Dragons And Unicorns
by Personification of Fluff
Summary: The Sequel for 'Leading up To This Point' Part 11 up. Finished! HxV, MixD, MixAS Hitomi and Van are married. Millerna and Dryden have a child. But nationalists are plotting to cleanse the bloodline of Fanelia, and lives will be changed again.
1. Wedding Nights

This is the sequel to "Leading Up To This Point". It'd be better if you read that one first. ^_^ Some of the thing mentioned in that story have been passed on. The rating is PG, but it might go up. It depends. 

Mainly on you. This'll take me awhile to write, because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. So feel free to make requests in what you want to see. Within reason. In other words, you can't say: "I feel Allen is a pansy, and want him to die a horrible, horrible death!" and expect it to happen, because it won't. This is a Millerna and Allen fic after all. On the other hand, I may get him get beaten up really badly.

That's all for now! Enjoy my sequel!! ^_^ 

  
  


****

  
  


Millerna was awakened by someone pulling on her hand, gently rousing her from her peaceful dream of that day's earlier events, Van and Hitomi's wedding. She opened her eyes to see her five year old daughter, Pandora. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, Millerna yawned as she asked her daughter what was wrong.

  
  


"I... I had a nightmare again, mommy..." the little girl answered. She looked very much like her mother: long blonde hair, and clear blue eyes. The young princess nervously twiddled her fingers. "I... I realize I may be getting old for this... but could I possibly sleep with you and daddy?"

  
  


The young Queen of Asturia smiled down at her daughter. She pulled the small child into her lap, stroking her hair in that motherly manner that made their children feel safe, special, and warm. "Of course you cam, Pandora honey. Tell me, what was this dream about?"

  
  


"I dreamed that I was running along and I was running, and running, and running, and I just kept running, never stopping. Then, there suddenly was this wall I almost ran into and I stopped, but I still wanted to run because there was something behind me that wanted me to run away from it and I was really scared! But then I turned around, and whoever it was wasn't there anymore, so I felt all better but it was only for a little while because that was when the person who was chasing me suddenly appeared behind me and grabbed me and I was even more scared and then I felt pain, and I fell out of bed, and my sheets were all in a tangle and it was like a monster had come out and grabbed me and I got even more scared, and I came in here to see you and daddy." Pandora explained, using those runaway sentences children talked with. 

  
  


She laughed, setting her daughter into the bed and covering the blankets over her. "Well, Pandora, I think that you managing to make it from your room all the way across the hall all by yourself was very brave of you." 

  
  


A hand suddenly covered hers, a rich voice speaking out. "I'll say. And you must be very healthy too, to have been able to run so far in your dream." Millerna looked over to see her husband, Dryden, was awake and had been listening to his daughter's tale as well. 

  
  


Pandora smiled sleepily, tired from the excitement she'd just gone through in explaining her dream. "Oh, daddy, it was only a dream. I didn't really run a long time, but it was still very far..." she yawned once, promptly falling back asleep.

  
  


Dryden smiled at Millerna. "Isn't it amazing how she can be so scared, energetic and childlike one moment, and the next she's comfortable, tired, and almost manages to speak like an adult?" He watched his wife smile back at him, making Dryden reach out to caress her face. "Millerna..." he whispered, leaning over to kiss her gently on the lips.

  
  


"EW! Daddy and mommy are kissing!!!" Pandora's high pitched childlike voice cried, not quite as asleep as her parents had originally thought.

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi stared up at the Mystic Moon, still in her wedding dress. Her green eyes starting getting wet as she suddenly realized something. Arms wrapped around her waist, and Hitomi leaned back into them. "My parents weren't there. They didn't see me get married." she reminded him.

  
  


Van rested his chin on her shoulder, rocking her gently. "I wouldn't worry about that. If you want, we can go back there. We could do the wedding ceremony your way, then we'd both be pleased." Van bowed his head, pulling at the shoulder of her dress to expose a bit of her skin. He kissed in gently, speaking in between them. "You and I can go there whenever you like. Besides, I'm sure your parents would want to see our children."

  
  


"Children..." she sighed contentedly, both to herself and because of Van's touches. "I'd like to have you for myself for a few years, but it's a Queen's first duty to provide an heir, isn't it?"

  
  


"Yes." he freed a hand, beginning to undue the knots that laced up the back of Hitomi's wedding dress. "But, we can still wait a little while before that happens. I'd like to have you to myself to, Gods know I waited long enough to hold you again."

  
  


She spun around in his arms, catching a deep blush plastered all over Van's face. The sight made Hitomi smile brightly, and reach out to brush some of Van's dark hair away from his eyes so she could see them clearly. As they brought their lips closer to one another into shy little kisses that blossomed into something both of them had been longing for, they didn't need words between them to say what their hearts felt.

  
  


*****

  
  


Merle and Allen sat together on the roof, staring out into the bright expansion of stars. Merle was laying flat on her stomach, her legs swaying back and forth along with her striped tail. She sighed happily. "Everything is back to rights now, Allen. Van and Hitomi are married, the Council is happy and will quit bringing up Van's need for a Queen, Fanelia has both peace and a ruler beside her King... I can't help but feel there won't be any excitement from now on."

  
  


Allen looked up at the Mystic Moon, Hitomi's home, laying down on his back. "Oh, I wouldn't say that Merle. I mean, there's everything Hitomi is going to have to learn to do to become Queen yet, all the guests are still staying here so I'm sure there'll be bound to be something there. Also, there's that race coming up in a week. We'll all be staying to watch you race.

  
  


The cat girl blushed, thinking of the races. For an entire week, people fought against one another in racing and games. It was a Fanelian tradition that Van had reawakened, now that Gaea was back in an era of peace. The point was to keep people healthy, so they didn't become fat and lazy. As the blush vanished, Merle smiled. "With Hitomi here, it looks as though I'm going to be losing my spot as gold medalist."

  
  


"Don't sell yourself short, Merle." Allen responded quickly. "You still have a shot."

  
  


"Oh, yeah? How? I mean, we're talking about the girl who jumped more then eight feet from the Crusader to a Zaibach floating fortress." Merle pointed out, sounding both bitter an practical.

  
  


"Van may keep her up late at night." Allen turned over and winked at Merle. Their heads were both on the same level, so he was glad to see that she gave the response he'd anticipated. 

  
  


Figuring out what he meant, Merle blushed again. 'Allen does have a point though, that's what newlyweds do.' She looked back up the stars, her tail waving proudly as she sighed. "I'm really proud of getting them together. I just wish... I mean, I'm not in love with Lord Van, but I still can't help but feel a little bit jealous. They have something so special...." Merle didn't bother saying the rest out loud. 'And I don't have anybody...' 

  
  


Allen nodded understandingly. He knew exactly how Merle felt. "Merle... I pray that we both that something special." A shooting star, unnoticed by both of them, flashed by and quickly disappeared into the vast numbers of glorious stars.

  
  


***To Be Contiued


	2. Wedding Mornings

Once again, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I need plot help. And, just to clarify, no Merle and Allen thing. Uh-uh. That's just wrong on so many levels... NE way, give me plot advice! Oh yeah, Lady Hyrule is being the bad guy again... hehehe, the bitch is back! ^_^ And, does anybody know how old Chid and Allen were in the series? Allen's 21, isn't he? Meh, I can't remember all these things...

*****

  
  
  
  


Pandora was born five years ago, four years after the Destiny War. For a long time after her birth, Millerna was really hurt. Rumours had flown around Asturia saying that while Dryden had been away on official business one night, Allen had snuck into the Queen's room and he was Pandora's father. 

  
  


The whole situation had made Millerna realize what her sister had gone through. Eileen's child was Allen's son, after all. If her sister had gone through it, then Millerna could pull herself out of this ditch! 

  
  


Although the rumours spread like a brush fire, hardly anyone thought they were true. The people of Asturia loved their King and Queen, and they knew that Dryden thought the world of Millerna Aston. Asturians simply brushed Millerna's fancy of Allen as a young girl crush, or the actions of a girl who wanted to rebel against her father. 

  
  


Dryden and Millerna had known each other since they were little children. Dryden used to follow the Princess around everywhere, sneaking off from his own studies to go and disturb Millerna's. Although Dryden worshipped the ground she walked on, he also used to play the tricks on her like most boys did when they liked a girl. His antics usually made her get in trouble by her tutor, he pulled her hair, put bugs in her bag, the list went on and on.

  
  


But Pandora knew none of that. She just knew that she had a Mommy and Daddy who loved her very much, and who wanted to make proud by doing good with her tutor and being a good little princess. So it was no surprise when she woke up between her parents just as the cock started to crow. Pandora sat straight up, wiping sleep from her eyes, as she slowly realized that she had another vacation day staring her face in the face. "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!" she cried, bouncing on the bed. 

  
  


Waking up quite quickly, Dryden and Millerna stared at the child, amazed that she could go from a horrible nightmare, to excitement, to being a fast asleep a second later, to waking up half a second after that, and now bouncing on the bed like a mad woman. "Okay Pandy-Candy," Dryden pulled his daughter back into a sitting position on the bed. "We're both up."

  
  


"Good!" Pandora cried, clapping happily. "Now, we can go outside and play because it's so nice outside and it'll be healthy too! And because Fanelia is so pretty I want to go and see more of it, cause Mommy was right, it really does look like a beautiful fuel!"

  
  


"Jewel, honey, not fuel." Millerna corrected, stiffling a yawn. "I don't know. I suppose we could let Pandora run around for now, outside, right? After all, she'll be within palace walls. Then, maybe later we could all go for a walk in the woods or something."

  
  


Dryden nodded slowly. "It sounds alright to me." he smiled at his daughter. "But you be good, okay Pandora?" 

  
  


"Okay." with a nod and an innocent grin, Pandora went skipping off, planning on exploring the courtyard. 

  
  


Relaxing back into his pillow, Dryden pulled his wife close to him as he smelled her hair. "So... where were we?" he asked, rubbing his thumb against her shoulder.

  
  


She smiled up at him, and pulled lightly on his beard. "We were going to get up and go and get some food. I'm hungry."

  
  


"Wha???" his jaw dropped in astonishment. "But... there was a *wedding* yesterday! There was food from all over Gaea there! What are you doing being hungry now??" 

  
  


"I don't know. But I'm hungry." Millerna rubbed her stomach, thinking of food. "Van told me that the chef, Jerome, loves company. He always has snacks hidden in his kitchen somewhere! C'mon Dryden! Let's get dressed and go sneak some sweets for breakfast!"

  
  


"Now what type of an example is that to set for our child, Millerna?" Dryden asked, teasing her. 

  
  


"Pandora's outside playing. She'll never know." 

  
  


Dryden smiled and quickly kissed his wife, as he reached over with a free hand, trying to find his glasses on the night table. "I love you, Millerna."

  
  
  
  


******

  
  


Van and Hitomi were both busy sleeping peacefully, wrapped in each other bodies. The room was as dark as the night, and just as quiet. Usually Van would be waking up, and soon he'd be knocking on Hitomi's door. Being a King didn't mean you could sleep in, but that morning was an exception. Even with their activities and the stress from the night and day before, Van's eyes woke up only a few minutes late.

  
  


He rolled over to see his Hitomi, his Queen, his friend, his wife, his lover, his other half. She was sleeping soundly in his arms, her own arms wrapped around him. Her eyes we closed, making her look much more like the old Hitomi, the one who fainted after exhausting her psychic talents. Her past shoulder length was as disarrayed as Van's own hair, and when what little light there was caught it's sheen, it made it look like Hitomi had a halo. 

  
  


Leaning close, Van kissed her forehead, and felt her give a little murmur. He recognized it as his own name, and the thought brought a smile to his lips. 'Hitomi is dreaming about me...' Van settled back in, rubbing his callused tips against Hitomi's back, as if making sure she wasn't a dream. 'Hitomi... my Hitomi... you're all mine now... I love you so much... My Hitomi...'

  
  


Hitomi's mind was fully awake, but she was terrified that if she opened her eyes, the dream would end. She would wake up and find herself on Graduation day, as if it had never been... that would be right before she went as red as anything, and had to use up a box of Kleenex to stop her never ending nose bleed. Pictures of a naked Van didn't usually enter her head. She felt lips against her forehead, and couldn't help his name escape her lips. Hitomi felt like she was going to cry soon. 'It can't be a dream! It just can't be!' 

  
  


She felt the heat between them grow stronger as Van held her closer, and as he began to rub her back. The touch made Hitomi feel like purring, and she opened her eyes, finding her face nestled tightly in Van's neck, his chin resting on her head. "I was afraid it was all some amazing dream..." she muttered slowly.

  
  


Van continued stroking her back. "I know. I felt the same way."

  
  


"But then I felt you near me, and I knew that I could never dream anything so perfect." Hitomi continued. Van's face grew hot as he blushed from ear to ear. Recovering quickly, Van moved, and kissed Hitomi lightly on the lips. He raised an eyebrow suggestively. "You know, Hitomi, this will be the first morning for a very long time, that we'll be able to worry about not being disturbed."

  
  


"I can live with that." Hitomi told him, shrugging.

  
  


"I can't!" Van rolled Hitomi unto her back as he began to kiss her passionately, showing her just what he meant.

  
  


*****

  
  


Merle climbed up unto the roof, her agile body making it seem easy. Once again, she found Allen already sitting up there. This time, he was busy looking down instead of up. "Hi Allen." she walked over and sat down beside him. "What are you looking at?"

  
  


"Pandora." Allen answered, not taking his eyes off the small child. She was walking around the upper courtyard, skipping happily about between pots of flowers, smelling and having small conversations with each one. 

  
  


"Huh?" Merle followed his gaze, and stared at the blonde child in the sundress not unlike the one she had worn when she was that size. "She's Millerna's daughter, isn't she?"

  
  


"Yes." Allen nodded. "Isn't she adorable? Believe it or not, apparently Millerna was much like that when she was her daughter's age. I think it's something that runs in the family."

  
  


"So did you come out this early just to watch Millerna and Dryden's kid?" Merle asked.

  
  


"No. I'm an early riser, and seeing as how everybody is probably sleeping off last night in one or more ways, I thought I'd come up here." Allen explained. "What about you?"

  
  


"Oh, I just came out for the fresh morning air. Besides, this is the first day that Van and Hitomi have been married. I think somebody who isn't sleepy, drunk, overly happy, and who's responsible should be out and about. Don't you?"

  
  


"Don't you consider me responsible, Merle?" Allen joked. 

  
  


"Not in the slightest." She countered back. Merle took another look at the perky little blond child. "She's cute all right. Pandora is four, right?"

  
  


"Five now."

  
  


"Wow. Five! It still seems like yesterday I got word Millerna was pregnant..." Merle turned over to Allen. "Listen, no one will be up in for a while, so do you wanna go play a game of chess or something and kill some time?"

  
  


"I think I'll stay here for now, thanks Merle." 

  
  


Merle turned away without another word, planning on leaving Allen alone with his spy-hawking. 'That's one odd guy.'

  
  


******

  
  


Lord Wernym walked casually down the hallways of the Palace, toward King Van's rooms. The King had not yet exited his rooms, and the still young Lord was getting quite worried. What if something had happened? Heaven forbid something awful had occurred to the new Royal couple of Fanelia!

  
  


As he watch approaching the large doors that led to the King's... no, the Royal couple's chamber, a very commanding feminine voice stopped him in his tracks. Merle sighed as she grabbed the back of his collar. "Leave them alone, Wernym."

  
  


******

  
  


Chef Jerome smiled happily, his accent heavy as he watched the Queen of Asturia eat his food. "You like, yes? Give you recipe!" he exclaimed.

  
  


Millerna nodded, still busy stuffing her face.

  
  


Still smiling, Jerome turned back to his recipe books, trying to figure out exactly what to serve that day. Despite his smile and happy attitude, he wondered where his friend Merle was. She was the only one who could talk in his native tongue, and made Jerome not feel so stupid. He knew his English wasn't perfect, but sometimes people would come into the kitchen, and when they talked to him he could just see their thoughts. 'He's and idiot', 'He couldn't speak properly if his life depended on it', 'Just one of Lord Van's servants.' The worst one was that bitch, Lady Hyrule.

  
  


True, King Van, Queen Hitomi, Lord Alle and Dryden, and Lady Millerna were all amazing people and treated him like the Master Chef he was... but only Lady Merle gave him that companionship he liked. Jerome's tail waved behind him as he found a wonderful tasting dish for supper. 

  
  


There was nothing like the companionship of a fellow cat-person.

  
  


****

  
  


Okay, I don't really know why I put that in,,, guess I got kinda bored... anyway, please give me ideas!

  
  



	3. The Plot Coagulates (for lack of a bette...

  
  
  
  


Pandora skipped about from flower to flower like a little blonde hummingbird. She couldn't get over the greenness of Fanelia, after having been raised by the Asturian Sea all of her short life. She hummed to herself as she fingered a pretty yellow flower. "Hello Ms. Flower!" she giggled. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" 

  
  


A shadow fell across her as she talked, deep in conversation with the yellow flower. She barely noticed, but as soon as she did, she turned and gasped in surprise. Her childlike eyes were wide with fright, but soon burst back into smiles when she saw that it was her cousin (once removed). Cheid. Pandora shouted out his name and launched herself at the fourteen year old king. 

  
  


"Hi Pandora." Chid said softly, as he hugged his little relative. He spoke very carefully, enunciating each word like he had been taught. "How are you enjoying Fanelia?" Cheid found it hard to believe that he had been the same age as her when the Destiny War had started. The result was that Chid looked much more older then what he really was. Hitomi had said he had an Old Soul. Even when he had been Pandora's age, he had still seemed older, because of the things that were going on: his mother's death, the neglect he felt from his father, the threat of war... Pandora had been sheltered from that.

  
  


"I love it! It's just so beau-ti-full!" she cried happily, bouncing on her toes as she clapped. "Are you staying for the festival?"

  
  


"Yes, I am." Cheid sat down on the bench beside the yellow flowers Pandora had been so involved with. He hugged his knees up to his chest, glad that he could at least act a *little* bit like the very young teenager he was. "So have you started schooling yet, Pandora?" 

  
  


"Uh-huh! I've been there for a year now and I think it's really fun, but sometimes I get really confuzzled because of all the big words out there and I'm not big enough for them to fit in my mouth yet!" she confessed. "I really really really like math though! My tutor says I'm really good at it, even better than she was when she was my age!"

  
  


"That's great, Pan!" Cheid told her earnestly. He felt a wave of shivers pass over his spine, almost making his hair stand on end. Was he being watched? Cheid shielded his eyes from the rising sun and looked towards the castle roof. Cheid's blue eyes softened as he saw that it was only Allen Schezar. He waved, but Allen just turned and walked away. He gave a small frown at the rudeness, but shrugged it off since he doubted Allen had seen him wave.

  
  


*****

  
  


Lady Hyrule paced angrily in her rooms, a large thundering storm cloud following her around in the circular path she was slowly burning into the floor. She wanted to scream and tear something into very tiny little pieces. She had never been so humiliated in all life! In a Royal Assembly, at that! Hell, even the commoners had seen her fiasco! Her entire body screamed for revenge. She would not let some fortune teller slut sit on the Royal throne! 

  
  


Aramy Hyrule had been born and raised in Fanelia. Her husband had only one year left in the Royal Council, and she would give her teeth and blood to see somebody of Fenalian birth on the throne before that appointed time. But not the Merle-creature, no. Never. Stripes had to go with stripes, spots to spots, and scales to scales. Van was a stripe (more or less), people like the Astons, they were spots, and things like Hitomi Kanzaki and Merle that were different then everyone else and belonged back at the ooze they came from, they were scales. 

  
  


The Fanelian throne had to stay in Fanelian blood. It was bad enough that someone like Van Fanel was on the throne. *His* blood was already tainted with Draconian slime. There had to be a way, in that one year, to unstitch Hitomi Kanzaki from Van's side, and to hopefully purify the Fanelian bloodline. 

  
  


She chewed on her lip harshly, and felt her skin rip away. She stiffled a yelp in pain, and as she daintily cleaned her lip, it had come to her. In that one clear, enlightening moment of hurt, she had found the answer.

  
  


Kidnap Hitomi Kanzaki.

  
  


*****

  
  


Allen Schezar hastily climbed down the ladder, only a few moments after he Merle. He had been busy watching Pandora and his illegitimate son, Cheid, talk in the garden. A loud noise snapped it out of it, and he saw a woman racing up the courtyard. She looked clumsy, but the guards stayed away from her, and soon he saw why. 

  
  


The lady was crying. 

  
  


Wondering what was wrong, and knowing that people were still sleeping off one thing or another, as Merle had pointed out, Allen climbed down to see if he could help. Running through the hells, he passed a slightly angry Merle who was busy dragging some Lord by his collar. 

  
  


"Allen! What is it?" She cried after him. Allen continued running and didn't say a thing.

  
  


He quickly reached the Main Hall, and the woman was already starting to be cared for by some of the servants. She was sitting in a large love seat, a shaking hand holding a cup filled with water, and a handkerchief in one hand. Although she seemed to prefer clutching and squeezing it than using it to wipe her face. A servant brushed past him, and he grabbed her arm. "Don't bother waking Van, I'll handle this." 

  
  


"Yes, sir."

  
  


Allen sat down beside the crying woman and placed a calm hand on her back. "My name is Allen Schezar, madam, I am a Knight of Caeli." he told her soothingly, his voice as gentle as a child's. "I'm here to help you. If you need it, take a moment to compose yourself and tell me what is wrong. Don't worry, I can wait."

  
  


She shook her head no, sending tears floating. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "M...." She took another deep breath, and closed her eyes. "My name is Mary. I... I'm a seamstress. I woke up this morning, and my husband was just lying in the bed beside me. He..." she took a smaller breath. It seemed the more she talked, the calmer she became. Allen saw her clutch the handkerchief tighter. "He's still breathing. But he's in so much pain, he can't seem to talk very long. He keeps clutching at his side. He says that it burns. It's his left side. A little bit above the hip. I... I don't know what to do. He looks very pale, and lately he's been getting a lot of colds. The doctor just said he needed to eat more citrus fruits, and that he was having cramps. But.. But... but now he can't even get out of bed, and I'm so worried for him!"

  
  


Mary started crying again, and grabbed his hand. She looked up at him with pleading blue eyes. "Please sir! I... I... I know that the Queen of Asturia is here, and that she saved your won life! Please, can she see me husband? I'm so worried I may loose him, he isn't very old, he can't be dying!!"

  
  


Allen smiled kindly, and brushed a bang back into place. "Of course I can ask her for you, Lady." He stood up and called for a servant. He patted Mary's hand. "We'll find her right now." Looking at the servant, he asked her if she had seen or knew if Queen Millerna was up yet. She nodded and said that her and her husband had gone into the kitchen. 

  
  


*****

  
  


Millerna sighed and pushed the empty plate away. "Thanks Jerome, that was heavenly. I can see why Van boasts about you in his letters to Dryden and I."

  
  


"Glad you like, Queen." Jerome said, putting the dish down and leaning on the counter. "Care for recipe?"

  
  


"I'd love it!" Millerna clasped her hands, much the same way her daughter had, only minutes before. She was interrupted by the door crashing open. She turned around to see a worried looking Allen standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened and she started to smile. "Allen!"

  
  


"Dryden. Millerna. A woman ran in her just now. Her husband's ill. She asks you for your help." 

  
  


"What? What is it?"

  
  


"There's a pain in his left side above the hip, he's been sick a lot lately, pale. He says it burns."

  
  


"Hmmmm...." Millerna rubbed her chin as she thought. Pain, left side, prone to sickness. She patted Dryden on the knee, and told him to run to their room and get her black bag. Old habits die hard. She turned back to Allen, glad that she was dressed. "It sounds like it may be appendicitis. I'll need to see him to confirm it, but if it appendicitis, I'll have to operate and quickly, before it bursts."

  
  


"Appendi what in the who now?" Allen asked, plainly confused.

  
  


Millerna sighed and started to walk, pulling the confused blond with her. "Allow me to explain..."

  
  


*****

  
  


Okay, sorry I took so long getting this part up. A lot of stuff has been going on, and I've been feeling depressed and unergetic. Plus... ah, my Mom says I'm spending too much time on the computer. But she's not home, and that made me feel even more energetic, and I felt so bad that I haven't posted in a VERY long time, I needed to write, so I just got on the computer, and wrote as much as I could. So now I have a plot. More or less. I promise I will try to get the next one up soon. Oh yeah, my muse is kicking my butt. Except by the time I get home, I'm too sore from getting my butt kicked to do anything about it.


	4. Royal Orders

OOPS! My bad! Hehe. Yes, appendixes are on the right side. I was thinking their right, my left, ya know. If anybody wondered, yes, I can't tell the difference between left and right. I'll go back and change that soon. ^_^ Right now, I wanted to do a nice little chapter involving mainly VanxHitomi fluff. Why? Because I can. And also because I love them. And because a certain somebody complained about them not being in the last Chapter. What!? You mean you didn't think I would right that wrong? Please! 

Oh, and another little thing. Yes, I realize that (more often than not) my stuff is wrong. Reason being? Well, for one I haven't yet seen the entire Esca series. I refuse to watch the edited ones on tv because they have been slaughtered. (This won't apply if I need a quick fix of Anime.) So, I am patiently waiting to get them unedited, but at 35 each, it takes a while. Especially because I am too busy writing fanfics to get a job. ^_^ 

  
  


~~~~

Day 3 After the Wedding, two days until festival.

  
  


"So, Millerna operated on him, and everything was all right?" Van asked in his 'I'm cool, nothing phases me' voice he tended to use to hide being nervous. 

  
  


"Yes," Merle answered as they continued to walk down the hallway. She continued talking, spying Van and Hitomi holding hands. She just barely managed to suppress a smile. She was so glad Lord Van was happy. "So Hitomi, are you nervous about your first day on the Fanelian Council?" 

  
  


As the Queen of Fanelia, Hitomi had a seat on the Council, right beside her husband's. The Council was also made up of advisors, like Merle, and other Fanelian people who lived and worked in political positions in the Royal palace. These positions including treasurer, social director, prime minister, so and so forth. 

  
  


"Nervous?" Hitomi gave a broad smile, her voice more than overly sarcastic. "No. Not at all. I mean, I've never done anything like this before so..."

  
  


Van silenced her with a quick kiss on her lips, and he tightened the grip he had on her hand, as if to lend her some of his own strength. His fingertips brushed the back of her hand. "Hitomi, you can do this. You're strong enough that even if you had no idea what was going on, you could still get yourself through it. And don't forget what you learned from Earth. In Kol-lege. Remember? You took Politics and Debating. You'll do great, Hitomi."

  
  


She smiled back at him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Van. I know I can do well when you're their to encourage me." 

  
  


Merle didn't mind holding hands. Smooching, cuddling, flirting.... that was all okay and *good*. But too much sap was too much sap! Merle started making choking sounds and faked dying. Van and Hitomi just laughed... though Hitomi really did look quite red in the face. Her angry shade of red. Merle winked at her from on the ground.

  
  


It was good, having Hitomi as a friend. 

  
  


~~~~~~

  
  


Everyone in the council was staring at the treasurer. All formal business was taken care of, and now there was just one topic left. Before the meeting, the council had voted Lady June to take care of it. She was the most tactful and polite, and would probably hurt Queen Hitomi and King Van's feelings the least. 

  
  


She blushed as red as her hair, coughed, pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, and shuffled her papers. When the other council members started shooting her death glares for stalling, she decided enough was enough. Lady June took a deep breath. "King Van, Queen Hitomi. As you both now, one of the reasons the Council continually urged for King van to get married, was because he was over twenty years old. You are 24 to be exact, King Van."

  
  


Van groaned, and let his head fall into his arms on the table. He knew what was going to be said, and he could already feel his temperature go up. "Thank you Lady June, I had forgotten how old I was." he murmered sarcastically.

  
  


"La- Queen Hitomi, you may not know this, but the life expectancy on Gaea is about 70 years of age. Also, one of the first duties of the Royal Couple is to produce an heir to the throne..."

  
  


Hitomi gave a rather confused looked, and turned to look at Van, who had his face burried under his hands and arms, as far as possible. 

  
  


Lady June took a deep breath. "ThereforewetheCpuncildemandthatyoutwospendasmuchtimetogetheraspossiblesothatQueenHitomicangetpregnantandgivethepeopleofFaneliaanheir!" she blurted out. Lady June sat back down in her chair, eyes closed in relaxation as she smoothed back her red hair. "And, we've also arranged a honeymoon for you which will take place in 10 days, that way King Van can go after the annual festival week."

  
  


Hitomi continued staring at them, her face flushed and cheeks looking like tomatoes. Her jaw swung about three inches longer then humanly possible. "I... I... I'm supposed to have a kid as soon as possible?" she asked.

  
  


The council nodded.

  
  


"And... And Van and I are... um... obligated to spend as much time together as possible so that I'll get pregnant?"

  
  


"The more times you two do it, the greater our chances!" Merle pipped up, enjoying the looks on Hitomi's and... well... Van's face was burried in the table, but his neck sure was red!

  
  


Hitomi stared at them all a moment longer, before leaning back in her chair, arms behind her head, and smile all over her face. "I see nothing wrong with this!"

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Millerna turned without the person behind her even having making a sound. "Allen." she smiled at the Knight of Caeli. "Please, sit down." she gestured to the sofa and waited for him to sit down before she sat down beside him. Millerna put a friendly hand over his gloved one. "Allen, I wanted to thank you for coming to tell me about that man yesterday."

  
  


"It was no problem, Queen Millerna." Allen answered, his voice as unemotional as ever. She instantly sensed something was wrong. 

  
  


"Allen?" Millerna leaned closer, trying to spot it in his eyes. He turned his face away.

  
  


"It's nothing, Queen Millerna." She bit her lip in response. If nothing was wrong, she was a monkey's uncle!

  
  


Silence overcame the two for a long time, and she felt Allen stand up to leave, but she held his hand tightly. "Listen, Allen, I've been thinking. Cheid... Cheid is my nephew. He's been an orphan since he was five. He's finally old enough to take control of his country from the Council, and I think it's time that he... that he found out who his real father was!"

  
  


Allen stiffened again. He slowly shook his head no. "Like you said, he's been an orphan since he was five. That's nine years, Millerna. Why tell him his father still lives? Then he will just have to go through losing his father all over again."

  
  


Millerna stood up, and forced Allen to look at her. "Have you talked to him lately, Allen? Damn it, at least *ask* him about his father! I think that you might change your mind if you do."

  
  


Somebody coughed at the door, and Dryden stepped from out of the shadowed doorframe. Millerna instantly blushed, and dropped her hands from Allen's face. She had to wonder how much Dryden had heard, while Dryden had heard nothing and was wondering once again the exact relationship between Allen and Millerna. Though he trusted his wife completely, and he was no longer wishing ill-will towards Allen, he was still slightly jealous of the realtionship they'd had in the past. What he would have given to have Millerna chasing after him, back then, instead of her longing over Allen Schezar.

  
  


Allen was the only one who remained cool. He bowed to them both. "I was just leaving." he stated, following through as he left. 

  
  


Dryden shut the down, and flomped down into the seat across from where his wife had been sitting moments before. "People who keep secrets can be burned by holding them too long, Millerna." He cautioned.

  
  


"And people who eavesdrop in doorways tend to hear what they don't want to." she retorted, adding, "And get reputations that are undeserving." she looked at her husband through the corner of her eye. "Although sometimes they are right on the mark."

  
  


The two stared at each other a moment longer before Dryden stood up and pulled his wife over unto his lap, chuckling heartily. "You are so cute when you're feisty, you know that?"

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Van's face was still burning from the Council meeting that had let out only half an hour before. He walked down the hallway back to his room, which was to be no more than a confinement area for him and Hitomi for the next ten days of their lives. "I mean, really, I think that my Council should get some more tutoring for biology. People can't do these things 24/7 after all!"

  
  


Hitomi smacked Van lightly on the head, before she pushed him against the wall, and ordered him to shut up. To Van, it was as good as hard physical slap. "Van, we've been apart for so long, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth okay? This? This is a like a dream come true for me! We're supposed to spend as much time together as possible, and that's what I've always wanted!" her voice softened, and she slipped her arms around his waist. "Besides, we can sneak out. We're not confined to your room, and even if we were, at least it's a gorgeous room! We... we can go down and go swimming! Go for walks in the woods, and don't forget how much time you spend in the city. I would love to go and meet the people of Fanelia with you, Van!"

  
  


She buried her head in his chest, feeling his arms return her hug. "And even if we didn't do any of that stuff like going on walks, I'd be happy just to stay like this with you." Even at the slightest touch, her heart would take off like a wild horse. Being held in Van's arms was more than enough for the young Queen of Fanelia. She just wished that she knew how to tell Van. Hitomi looked up at his face, and knew she needn't bother to try.

  
  


~~~~~ To Be Continued

  
  



	5. Confessions

Nope, no hentai here, k? I mean, I write Van and Hitomi FLUFF and SAP, which goes to show you exactly what I think of their relationship. A fluffy lemon? Meh... That would be, what, lemon souffle? All I can guarantee is fluff and references/hints to sex.

*****

  
  


Allen stood in the doorway, watching Pandora have a tea ceremony with Cheid. They were both sitting on their knees at the little coffee table, sipping herbal tea, and were deep in conversation. After a moment of reflection, Allen decided that maybe they weren't playing after all. He really did hate to interrupt them, but Allen's curiosity had gotten the better of him.

  
  


"Pandora." He said, stepping lightly into the room. 

  
  


She looked up, little blond waves of hair falling in front of her face. "Yes, Sirallen?" she asked, pronouncing his name like one word. 

  
  


Looking into her clear blue eyes that were as trustful as childhood itself, Allen hated himself for lying to her. "Your mother would like to see you."

  
  


"Oh. I see." Pandora calmly put down the teacup and stood up, something wrinkles out of her sundress. She tucked loose hair back into a ponytail, and made sure she looked as neat as possible. Pandora may only have been five, but she still knew to make sure she looked suitable if her mother asked for her. She had learned it quite well too. Especially after the time her mother had asked for her, and she had gone up to see her after spending several hours climbing around the dustier parts of the attic. That certainly hadn't gone over well.

  
  


Turning to her older cousin, she smiled like the perky little elf she was. "Sorry, Cheid. I have to go see what Mom wants."

  
  


Cheid smiled back, and out his own tea cup down. "I understand, Pandora. I didn't hesitate when my parents called me either." he watched her skip away, blue eyes filled with respect and love for his little cousin. A movement made him blink, and he realized that Allen was still in the room. For some reason it made him feel nervous. But then, as he grew up, he'd almost been a little bit nervous around the elder and idolized knight.

  
  


What if Allen saw him fight and he forgot something that had been taught to him since he first held a sword? Or what if he missed a dance step and twirled a lady on the second beat instead of the third? Worse yet, if he stepped on her toes? Or what if... 

  
  


He turned his back to the knight and started organizing the tea things back on their tray. "Is there something I can help you with, Sir Allen?" he asked politely.

  
  


"Prince Cheid..." Allen reconsidered his choice for a moment before turning to sit on a chair. He leaned forward; arms resting on his knees, hands clasped together, and long blond hair falling over his shoulders. "Prince Cheid, may I ask you a personal question about your family?"

  
  


The young prince held the knight's gaze for a moment. What could Allen possibly want to know about his family? He swallowed nervously, feeling himself blush uncomfortably. "Why, of course you may, Sir Allen."

  
  


"Exactly how did you feel about your father?" 

  
  


Cheid seemed taken aback, which he was. He blushed harder at the uncomfortable question. "Well... I... Uh..." he stuttered a bit, something he hadn't done since he had been very little. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began telling Allen exactly what he had thought about the past King of Freid.

  
  


*****

  
  


"So, this festival is just like our Olympics?" Hitomi asked once again. She was snuggled tightly in Van's arms, and she just kept on asking him the same questions over and over again, simply because she liked having his breath and lips tickle the back of her neck. 

  
  


"Ah... yes. Except that ours are yearly instead of every four years." Van answered, more than slightly confused. Why was Hitomi asking him the same questions over and over again? He pulled the covers higher up over their naked bodies. The room's air seemed too cold. Finding Hitomi's hand, he rubbed her fingers gently. "Listen, did you want to take part in it? We do have a 100 metre race."

  
  


"Race? One hundred metres?" Hitomi's ears perked up, and turned her hand so that she could see Van. "Of course I want to!"

  
  


Van sat up and started to grab his pants which lay discarded at the end of the room. "Great, then. I'd expect that you want to start training then, so I'll just leave..." He was cutting off by Hitomi.

  
  


"Are you trying to get rid of me, Van?" she asked, her voice soft. 

  
  


"No. It's just that I..." he felt smooth hands wrap around him and pull him back on the bed. "Hitomi?"

  
  


"It's just that you want out of the room." she finished for him, smiling thoughtfully. She watched in amusement as he blushed. "Now King Van, that's not your orders. You are supposed to stay here with me! Do you want to set a bad example for your subjects?" 

  
  


"But don't you want to go and train, get some exercise?" 

  
  


Hitomi smirked, pulling him un top of her. "I *AM* exercising." she stated firmly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She looked up at Van, her green eyes with teasing love. 

  
  


He stared back, roany eyes looking confused. Hitomi arched her neck and kissed him slowly, drawing it out until he got the message.

  
  


*****

  
  


Allen kind of stared at the little king Cheid. Cheid had just confessed to him that he had felt his father used to school to keep the young prince away, and had not truly loved him as a son. Perhaps as a family member, yes, but Cheid felt the former King's love was more of a guardian-ward relationship. It made Allen feel awful. Cheid was *his* son, and his fatherly instincts made him want to try and smooth over the neglect he had felt. 

  
  


But to tell Cheid about his affair with Marlene? Cheid worshipped Marlene just like Allen had done. To tell him of his affair might muddy is perfect picture of her. On the other hand, to hear it from court gossip would be even worse. "Prince Cheid..."

  
  


Cheid looked over to Allen, raising his head. He himself was still astonished at the similarity between the two of them, and he admired the thought of looking like his childhood (and teenage-hood) hero. "Yes, Sir Allen?"

  
  


"Do you... Don't..." he began. Allen cleared his head by shaking it and started over again. This time, instead of speaking in the clear, thought-out and careful way he usually talked, he spoke straight from the heart. "I'm sorry." 

  
  


Earnestly mistaking this for pity, instead of the sympathy it was, Cheid looked away feeling slightly bitter. "It's not your fault, Sir Allen. You could do nothing to change the way my father felt about me." He paused, staring out the window, lost in thought. "After all, it's not like you're my father."

  
  


For what seemed like an eternity, neither of them said a thing. Cheid slowly raised an eyebrow, and his jaw began to drop. His blue eyes were as wide and deep as the oceans when he turned to face Allen. "Al-Allen?"

  
  


"God Cheid..." Allen bit his lip hard to keep his shameful tears from falling. "I'm so, so, very sorry. I never knew that you felt that way about King..." the name fell away, and he choked back a sob. "Millerna said I should talk to you, but you may not like what I have to say..."

  
  


He went pale, and shook his head yes. Cheid couldn't seem to make his lips move.

  
  


"I am a Knight of Caeli," Allen began, slowly. "And your mother, had just agreed to be married to the King of Fried when we first met...."


	6. Kidnapping!

FYI: Nothing is up with Van, I just needed to come up with a way to get some VanxHitomi stuff in there. What can I say? My Muse was not being very kind to me that day. By the way, I can prove this for you. I had so much trouble writing, that I decided to start writing by alphabet. Check out the Allen and Cheid part! ^_^

BTW, sorry this took long. It's exam time so I've been studying, and I also got a job, so I need to get use for that. Don't worry thought, because school is over in a week and half, so then I won't have to worry about studying and homwork anymore. (And hopefully neither will you guys!) ^_^

  
  


****

Day 4 after wedding, day of the festival

  
  


Van sat on the raised dias, the long field of grass stretched out long in front of him. For the next five days, it would be a blurry of activity: javelin throws, sprinting, long distance running, discus, sword fighting, Guymelef fighting, and horse fighting. He was glad to see the turnout this year, and that they opening ceremonies were over. Every year, they seemed to get longer and stretch on forever.

  
  


Fanelia was a quiet trading town, so having people come from all over Gaea helped her economy. This was the week when most of the economy and money Fanelia got was brought in. Restaurants were overflowing, same as the inns, the parks were full of happy children, and discussions blossomed between peoples who had once fought each other. Peace an Gaea, and Fanelia was one of the towns that was at it's heart. 

  
  


The first even that was to start off the sprinting races. Van was eager to see Merle and Hitomi race. The latter was nearly a professional, but Merle had it in her blood. So did Hitomi, but Merle's was much more literal. She was a cat-person, and with the extra training and exercise, she was as fast as Hitomi had been nine years ago. He should know. Unlike on Hitomi's Earth, Fanelia had no stop watches and the runners were timed with the pink and gold pendant Van held in his hand. Like Hitomi had told him, it swung in perfect arcs: one per second. If there was a tie, the Kings together had to decide who was faster.

  
  


Participants quickly assembled, and the referee whistled for their attention.

  
  


Hitomi and Merle had rows right beside each other. Hitomi wore her track suit from Earth. Now that she was Queen, people didn't seem to make as much a fuss about it. Besides, Merle wore something quite similar. It was a short skirt with shorts underneath, and a light weight-short sleeved shirt. They both smiled at each and shook hands. Merle smirked at her competitive friend. "Hey, Hitomi, don't forget that you're hubby is at the end waiting for you." Merle widened her eyes and started to do her impression of them. "'Oh Van!' 'Oh Hitomi!' 'I love you!' 'I love you too!' 'I can't stand it any longer, kiss me Hitomi!' Ooooooohhhhh!!!!" 

  
  


She took a good natured swing at her friend. "Merle, for being 19, you're pretty damn immature." 

  
  


"Well one of has to be! All you and Van do is sat around googily-eyed at each other, so somebody had to be the distraction for the rest of the country before they toss their cookies!"

  
  


"Get ready!"

  
  


Everyone took their positions, and the flag dropped, signalling the start of the race.

  
  


****

  
  


"Is it time yet, boss?" the small, skinny man asked. Rave was hopping up and down with excitement. This was the first time in months that they had gotten a job, and he was getting pretty damn hungry. "With the way Lady Hyrule is paying us, we can eat like Kings and stuff ourselves till we die!"

  
  


"Gee Rave, that sounds really nice." Boss rolled his eyes, and snorted. "No, the race just finished. We gotta catch her alone. After that, there's the King. *Then* we can get paid."

  
  


"Oh! The race just finished? Hey Boss, who won? Huh? Who won?" Rave's bouncing became more intense, and Boss pushed him in the wall, hissing him to be quiet.

  
  


He turned back to the crowd, his ears literally twitching as he listened to the crowd. "Hm. Seems it was a tie between Merle and the future Former Queen Hitomi."

  
  


"That's great! Gee, it's pretty nice that the two of them tied with them being friends and all. This way, there won't be no competition."

  
  


"You idiot! You used a double negative!"

  
  


****

  
  


With a towel draped around her shoulders, Hitomi pulled the small elastic out of her hair, letting it drop back down to her shoulders. Shr brushed at it with her fingers, trying to undue the tangles that had found their way through her fine brown hair. Not watching where she was going, her legs feeling a little tired after their exercise, she bumped into somebody and immediately bowed her head and apologizing. She knew if the Council members had seen her, she would have been reprimanded by saying that she was a Queen now and could have the other person put it jail, but Hitomi couldn't let go of 24 years of training just like that. 

  
  


She stood back up and opened her eyes to see a very, very large man standing in front of her. He grinned ferally and reached out to grab her wrist, pulling her forward and catching her off guard. Hitomi tried to keep her balance, but she was too startled, and before she knew it there was another, smaller, person behind her and she felt something trying to encircle her chin to keep her mouth shut.

  
  


Hitomi shook her head to clear it, and her green eyes narrowed dangerously. She titlted her head up and screamed as loud as she could, at the same time kicking one foot forward, connecting with a hard shin, and her elbow pushing backwards to punch soft ribs. 

  
  


The larger man seemed undaunted, and she noticed that nobody had even heard her scream. 'Of course they didn't.' Hitomi began to realize how elaborate the attack was. 'I'm too far away from them to hear me, and they couldn't hear me anyway because of the sounds and cheering going on in the fair. Hell, for all I know, they *can* hear me and they just think I'm some fanatic.' Still, Hitomi continued to fight.

  
  


The smaller man coughed and regained himself. He narrowed his eyes at the girl. Lady Hyrule had said the young Queen would be an easy target, but she was proving to be slightly difficult. Gods, could she scream. Taking out his dagger from his sheath, he hit her roughly in the back of the head with the hilt, sending Hitomi into the black abyss of unconsciousness.

  
  


*****

  
  


Van rubbed at his head, feeling an advancing headache. He sighed, and wondered how long it would be before Hitomi would come and sit at his side. Already, after such a short time, he felt lonely when Hitomi wasn't around him. And, according to the Council, they *were* supposed to spend as much together as possible. Instead of looking at the games like he was supposed to, Van began thinking of Hitomi, and his eyes got a glossy lost look to them. 

  
  


However, the headache didn't leave, and Van grabbed at his forehead instead of rubbing at it. He bent over with pain, grunting with the effort of trying to clear his head. What the hell was happening to him? It felt like the ground beneath him was breaking up, and the temprature was rising to incinerating levels!

  
  


No, he wasn't imagining it! Van opened his eyes to see the world shaking below him and shatter into a million pieces. Flames wrapped around him, and hid the breaking earth, and for a brief moment Van *was* the fire! But they cleared, and he was his Hitomi fighting against two men, her scream ringing in his ears. He ran towards her, screaming her name...

  
  


*****

  
  


"Cheid? You've been awfully quiet. Aren't you enjoying the show?" Pandora asked, leaning towards the young King. She blinked slowly, and smiled at him kindly. "Is there something I can do to help?"

  
  


"Uh?" Cheid looked at his young family member and smiled back. "No, there's nothing that you can, Pandora." he paused for a moment, and then turned back to her. "But maybe you can answer a question for me. Why do people lie to one another?"

  
  


Pandora didn't say a thing for a moment, and thought the question over. She found it an interesting question. It was quite unusual indeed. She liked unusual things. "People lie to one another because they want to protect people." she began to tell him, staring at her shoes thoughtfully. "Not just whoever they are lying to, but also themselves, because to tell the truth might get them in trouble or it might get them yelled at, which is just as worse. People lie because they are scared of the consequences of telling the truth. But don't misunderstand me, people who lie aren't being cowards, they are simply being human. Does that answer your question, Cheid?"

He looked at her very wide-eyed, before giving her a genuine smile and a friendly hug. 'Thanks Pandora, don't ever grow up, okay? People will tell you things that won't coincide with the things you believe in, and don't let go of the things you hold true today, okay?"

  
  


Pandora stared at the sky for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant before understanding. She hugged him back and nodded. "Okay."

  
  


*****

  
  


"Hitomi!!!" Van screamed out the name, his eyes reopening to see blue sky, odd looks from the Council members, and the festival carrying on as normal, except for those who had heard him. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, and it came away wet. Was he sweating? But it wasn't that hot outside, and he was in the shade! Van's stomach felt funny, and he found it hard to get his breath. He felt like he'd just flown thrice around Gaia! His whole body was shaking, when he saw Allen rush up the platform to him. Close behind him was Merle. 

  
  


Van gave his war-friend a pained look as he hunched himself over more, not sure if his head, stomach, or the fact that he had no idea what had happened hurt more. "Allen.... What's wrong with me?" 

  
  


Merle pushed past the tall blonde and knelt beside her childhood friend. She brushed sweat-streaked hair out of his eyes, eyeing him over. "Van.... did you *see* something?" she asked him. 

  
  


"I saw Hitomi.... fighting.... and there was fire and the world was cracking under me." he answered. He watched Merle chew her lip thoughtfully, but he didn't get on the same level of thought as her until Allen spoke. 

  
  


"You look a bit like Hitomi after she wears herself out..." 

  
  


He turned back to Merle. "Merle, am I sharing Hitomi's visions? But she hasn't had any for a long time and I...."

  
  


"But when was the last time she's been in danger Van? I suppose it just comes to her when something bad is going to happen. After all, it's not like she ever predicted something *good* and *happy* was going to happen. But who really cares about that, what happened to Hitomi?:

  
  


"She's been kidnapped...." Van turned to see Lord Wernym holding up the towel Hotomi had been carrying when she left the courtyard. With a single glance at it and the ransom note in the other hand, Van felt his heart shatter like the earth had under his feet in the all to real vision. 

  
  


'No wonder Hitomi was tired after seeing those vis....' Van didn't have time to finish the thought as his eyes rolled, his body dropped out of his chair and saved from the floor by Merle's cat-reflexes. 


	7. Questions of Strength

  
  
  
  


"Hitomi's gone missing?" Millerna asked. She suddenly realized why Van had been keeping to himself for the past two hours. Hitomi was the most special person in his life, and now she was missing. She brushed her daughter's bright silver hair, imagining how she would feel if Pandora ever went missing.

  
  


Her daughter looked up at her mom, blue eyes wide with concern. "Is Aunty Hitomi going to be okay?" She could sense something was wrong in the room. And where was Uncle Van and Aunt Hitomi? Lately, since the big party, they hadn't been seen outside their rooms a lot. At least now she knew what had happened to Auntie Hitomi. 

  
  


"Of course she will Pandora." Dryden pulled is daughter into his lap, hugging her warmly. Pandora giggled at the tickle of his unshaven beard. "We have the guards out looking for her in the city." He turned to Allen. "I thought the people of Fanelia loved Hitomi. How could she be getting kidnapped? Was it somebody from outside Van's kingdom?"

  
  


Lord Wernym answered for the tall Knight of Caeli. "Actually, King Van already has an idea of who might have kidnapped Queen Hitomi."

  
  


Cheid kept his head down, tracing the grains of wood on his chair's arm. "Let me guess.... It was the same woman you wrote me about. The one that kept saying Van and Hitomi shouldn't get married." 

  
  


"What? You mean the woman who spoke out at the wedding?" Millerna asked, looking around at the males in the room. 

  
  


"Precisely." Allen answered. "Lady Hyrule. The only problem is that Lady Hyrule left for a visit to her sister in Asturia. Although it is possible that she orchestrated the even from there, or even had planned it all out earlier. Van has no proof that it was her either. It was suggested by his Council he sign a warrant for the guards to search her home, but Van says he doesn't want to do that because all he has are theories and intelligent guesses. He doesn't want to get in the habit of signing warrants based on guesses and judgements of character."

  
  


"That's really quite wise of him." Cheid said, thinking out loud. "I know that my Council, before I got full control of Freid, they would often sign warrants based on those same thing. It took a lot of work, but eventually they got out of the habit."

  
  


"Where's Van now? In his room?" Allen and Wernym nodded. Millerna stood up and looked around. "It's almost lunch. I'm going to go and see Jerome and ask him to make up something light for Van to eat. He's a King, sulking because you lost your wife..."

  
  


"Don't forget that somehow Van also got a vision like Hitomi used to, and he *did* pass out from it. That also wore him out." Merle pointed out. She saw all those who weren't from Fanelia give her an odd look. They'd forgotten how quiet and motionless she could be now that she was older. Allen hadn't seen her be so still since Van had been kidnapped by Zaibach, and Hitomi was trying to use dowsing to find him. However, like a kitten grows into a cat, Merle's exciteability had changed into patience. But her perkiness still stayed the same.

  
  


"Right." Millerna responded after a moment of silence. "Because you lost your wife and are tired from passing out may be okay for a little while, but the King can't afford to be weak and Van will need to eat. So like I said, I'm going to see Chef Jerome."

  
  


Merle stood up as well, her long tail flicking back and forth. "I'll come with you." 

  
  


As the two women started to leave, Cheid also stood up and excused himself. He wanted to talk to Millerna. "Aunt Millerna? Could I talk to you? Privately, please?"

  
  


She blinked. "Sure, Cheid. Merle, why don't you run ahead? I'll catch up later."

  
  


The cat girl shrugged and said okay, before she took off, skipping down the hallway. Millerna and Cheid were left alone. There was a brief moment of silence before Cheid started talking. "Why didn't you tell me that Allen was my true father?"

  
  


Millerna looked shocked for a moment before smiling and looking slightly smug. "So, Allen *did* tell you about that..." she gave a small laugh, before answering her nephew. "Truthfully, Cheid, it wasn't up for me to tell. That was Allen's secret."

  
  


"If it was Allen's secret, why do you know about it?" 

  
  


The young Queen looked at her nephew in shock. "Cheid, is that what you wanted to talk about? How I knew?" she smiled down at him thoughtfully, and took the shaken looking boy into her arms. "Oh, Cheid, Allen never told me." Millerna brushed back Cheid's bangs, her blue eyes filled with love and concern for her family member. "Do you want to know how I found out?"

  
  


Cheid nodded and sniffled. He felt like he was going to cry. It had seemed so totally unjust when Allen had told him, and he'd discovered that *he* was the last person Allen had told! Merle, Van, Hitomi.... they all knew! So why hadn't Allen told him earlier? He had said it was because Allen had already lost a father, and he didn't want the little King to lose another one when he was killed on some knightly business, or of old age. 

  
  


Sitting down on a bench in the hallway, Millerna began telling Cheid how she had found out. "It happened while I was in Freid. I found Marlene's diary. I know that I really shouldn't have read it, but I couldn't help it. I don't really know what possessed me to do it. Maybe it was the fact that I wanted to know Marlene a little bit better: how she thought, what she thought about. Or maybe it was because I knew that at one time Allen had more interest in her than me and I thought that if I made myself more like Marlene, Allen might like me more." she paused a moment, reflecting. "It hurt me, knowing what had passed between your mother and Allen, but it didn't change my feelings one bit. I loved you, and I loved Allen. My dream was to marry Allen, and if I did then it would only bring me closer to you."

  
  


"Do... Do you still love Allen, Aunt Millerna?"

  
  


She blinked quickly and turned away. "That's a very private question Cheid, and one I don't feel quite like answering. At least, not today." With another smile before she left to go after Merle, Millerna gave Cheid a kiss on the cheek and tousled his hair. "I think that you've had enough stories for now."

  
  


*****

  
  


'Why? Why did I get the vision? Dear God, if that's what they feel like, it's no wonder Hitomi was worn out. I... I.... I don't understand!' Van lay in bed. It felt lonely, without Hitomi laying beside him. In the short time they had been together, he had gotten so used to having her around. Tears of pain and frustration slid down his cheek, unto the white pillow beneath his head. 'Why? Why?! Why did they take Hitomi!!?' His hand tightened around the pink necklace in his hand. It steadily began to glow the more frustrated he got, and with the more tears that trickled down his cheeks, the hotter it became.

  
  


Van held it up thoughtfully, watching the glow and the heat lessen after it was no longer held against his skin. His eyes widened. 'Is.... Is this the reason why? Because I had Hitomi's pendant? Could it be that *Hitomi* was supposed to see the vision, but I got it instead because I had her jewellery? No. The vision was meant for, of that I'm sure. I got it after Hitomi was kid... kidna.... kidnapped...' 

  
  


*****

  
  


Kidnapped. 

  
  


That was the first thought that went through Hitomi's head as she slowly opened her eyes and rubbed the bruise forming on the side of her head. She felt panic overwhelm her, but she shoved it away as she burst out laughing. It wasn't like she hadn't been kidnapped before. It seemed like whenever she did get kidnapped, sometime soon Van would show up. So she just needed to sit back and wait for Van to show up riding a newly-reawakened Escaflowne, and he would carry her back home to safety in a dazzling sunset....

  
  


Hell no!!

  
  


She was Hitomi Kanzaki, adopted Princess of Cheid, Queen of Fanelia. She wasn't some 15 year girl, she was a 24 year old woman with degrees in anything and everything she could handle! Star of the track team! Married! A heroine! A fortune teller! In nine years, she had changed a lot, and there was no way in hell she was going to wait around in some hell hole prison waiting for Van to come save her!

  
  


'I love Van and all...' Hitomi looked up at the roof, her green eyes wide with the thought of her husband, but they began narrowing as she thought of her predicament. 'But there's no way in hell I'm going to sit here and not do a thing! Those kidnappers don't know what's going to hit them!'


	8. Fighting

  
  
  
  


He could always feel her. Van could always feel Hitomi, even from far away. There had been times when he would be just flying, happy as anything, and all of a sudden, he would start to feel sad. He had been feeling Hitomi's sadness! There had been times when it had been just the opposite. He'd be sitting in his room, crying, when he would feel a calm emotion wrap around himself. Hitomi, again, helping him keep control and be strong, happy. 

  
  


The two of them had always been close. Now... could the events of the past week have increased their bond? They now shared not only love and friendship, but duty, name and blood. Was it at all possible he could now see the future as well? 

  
  


No. Of course. The idea was purely ridiculous.

  
  


Van saw the past. Hitomi was the one who saw the future. 

  
  


Van smiled ironically. 'We really are like to haves of the same person. Masculine, feminine. Air, and Earth. Chaos, and order. Fighter, scholar. Future, and past. Aggression, and pacifism. King and Queen. Hitomi and I really are Yin and Yang.'

  
  


*****

  
  


Millerna sat on the bed she and Dryden shared, looking out the window. Her daughter was once again skipping in amongst the pots of flowers. Pandora was such a happy girl, and Millerna wondered if she would ever be the cause of her unhappiness. Her own family and brought that emotion down upon her, and Millerna didn't think she could do the same for her own daughter. 

  
  


Cheid's question weighed heavily on her mind. Did she love Allen? She was married to Dryden. Dryden was her husband. Pandora... Why did such a simple question bother her so much? It was because she didn't know the answer. 

  
  


Years ago, almost a decade ago, she had told the handsome knight she'd give up everything for a chance to be with him. Her honour, her family, her title. But when push came to shove, she had taken up the proposal her father had arranged and married Dryden. Dryden who had teased her as a little kid, and had always been there for her until she'd come to begin admiring Schezar. Dryden who had vowed he'd make Millerna love him. 

  
  


Why? Why had she made such a heartfelt promise only to leave him the first chance she'd gotten? Was it because of Hitomi Kanzaki? Perhaps. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was why she couldn't get it out of her head. Millerna couldn't forget that night. Was it because she still cared for the handsome knight, or was it because she'd turned her back on her promises?

  
  


*****

  
  


Merle and Dryden sat discussing trade routes, inflation, and other marketing topics. The elder trader was glad to have a conversation of something he could relate to, and Merle was having fun at discussing something she had never told anybody about. Her secret shopping skills. 

When she went out, Merle was sometimes taken advantage of in the market place. Shop tenders would see the pink hair, the long ears, stubby nose, teeth, black stripes, and the claws, and they would immediately think that Merle was nothing but a stupid cat person. They would try to sell her inferior products at twice the cost of a better make! This, of course, didn't happen in *Fanelia* or other big cities like Freid, but in the smaller places where Merle would spend her vacations. Merle had become quite good at haggling and recognizing dishonest shop tenders.

  
  


Their friendly chat was interrupted however, when Dryden suddenly changed topics. He had more pressing matters on his mind. "Merle, do you think it's right for somebody to make someone else love them?"

  
  


"Huh?" Merle wondered where this topic had suddenly come from. "No, actually I don't. I mean, I suppose some people might find it nice and romantic or something, but it's really not all that nice a thought. You're forcing somebody to like you. I don't even think that's possible. You can't make somebody love you, sure, people can slowly fall into love, but you can't make it happen."

  
  


"..."

  
  


*****

She looked around and took in stock of what she had. There's was nothing in Hitomi's room other than a fouton for sleeping on, a blanket full of moth holes, and a potty. Unused, thank God. The room wasn't very dark. There were two small windows, a single pane of glass only, but it let the light in. Hitomi guessed she must have been in a corner room, because the windows were opposite the only door. There was no hole in the door, so they obviously were going to bring food in for her. If her attackers had wanted to kill her, she'd be dead already. So... what was Htomi going to do to get out? 

  
  


A fouton, a blanket, and a toilet... 

  
  


*****

  
  


"Hitomi Kanzaki..." Lady Hyrule put the alcoholic drink down and picked up a match. She lit it on her plate and held it under the letter. It caught fire, and she threw it into the water dish where the leftover ink ran and the small fire was extinguished. 

  
  


Lady Hyrule picked her drink back up, and moved the cup in a circular motion. "So.... Hitomi Kanzaki has been kidnapped. And with me here, there is nothing to attach me to it. I suppose, then, that it's time for me to make my appearance back in Fanelia..."

  
  


*****

  
  


Hitomi heard footsteps down the hall and she held tighter at the cloth and the toilet. It hadn't been so hard to think of something after all. They were going to come and feed her, so if there was only one guy, all she had to do was throw the moth-eaten blanket over his head, then hit him with the toilet.

  
  


Of course, if there was two of them, she'd be in trouble. And if it was the larger guy, she doubted the toilet would even bruise his head. 

The door opened slowly, almost cautiously. Hitomi pressed herself against the wall. Her green eyes narrowed as she crouched, getting ready to jump. She could just make out the man say: 'Huh? Where'd she go?' before Hitomi attacked. She threw the pillow over the guys head, and then brought the toilet down with a two handed swing. She thought the sound of the ring might bring the other man running, but she lucky. The man dropped to the floor and did not move. 

  
  


She dragged the man to the futon and curled him into a ball, then she threw the blanket over him. If luck stayed with her, if anybody else came to check on her, they'd just see her sleeping. A poor, pitiful creature too stupid to attack. Hitomi threw the toilet on the floor. 

  
  


'I don't know the people who kidnapped me.' Hitomi thought to herself as she shut and locked the big door. 'So I've got to find out who is at the head of this operation. Some sort of a written document or the like. I wonder where I could get that though. There may not even be any written proof. Now, pick a door, Hitomi. Do you want to straight, or left?' she stood looking down the two hallways for a few minutes. 'I don't remember making a choice like this for a long time. If I had gotten kidnapped nine years ago, and had broken out, what would I have done? Yes! The pendant!" Hitomi could still picture the pendant perfectly in her mind. All she had to do was think about Van, and there it was. She had given it to him, and he still wore it under his shirt, close to his heart. 'Oh, please lead me to... to whatever it is I need to find!' She saw the pendant swing left. Left it is. 

  
  


After many twists and turns, she heard voices. No, a single voice, Hitomi realized. She slowed down at crept towards an open door. The large man sat at a wooden desk, he seemed to be reading a letter. "'Your mission is now complete. I do, however, have another requirement of you. I will quadruple you payment, if you simply kill the Queen. I don't care how: poison, rape, beating, drowning, hanging, beheading, disembowelment, just do it! This will make you a millionaire!'" he sighed and put the letter down. "That was never part of the bargain. The bitch is more bloodthirstier than I thought. But to kill The Queen of Fanelia...."

  
  


Hitomi's eyes widened. Somebody wanted her dead? Okay, Dilandau had wanted her dead before, but that was years ago! She hadn't been so hated in so long, she had forgotten what an awful feeling it was. Hitomi began to creep away from the door, but the voice began talking again. 

  
  


"I won't do it. I'll tell her that she's dead, maybe show her a lock of hair and the clothes to make sure. But I won't kill her. I mean, Queen Hitomi is the best hostage I've ever taken! I won't kill nobody. Never have, never will."

  
  


She let out a breath and relaxed. At least she didn't have to worry about that anymore. Hitomi was actually flattered that her kidnapper wouldn't kill her for millions of dollars. Anybody who couldn't accept a bribe like that had a lot of decency. A decent kidnapper, oh the irony! Hitomi turned away from the door, and heard a loud crack. The floorboard had moved under her weight! Hitomi could feel her heart stop beating as she stopped to see if the large man had heard. 

  
  


He had.

  
  


The chair creaked as he got out of it, and Hitomi could practically feel the entire house shake as he started running after her. She turned around and crouched, waiting for him to come through the door. She hit his stomach with her knee the moment she saw it, and the large man doubled over. Hitomi paused. She didn't think she could kick strong enough to hurt a man built like an ox, but she supposed that it was all because of the running she did. Hitomi shook her head to clear it, and kicked the man in the nose. His hands flew up to his nose, which started bleeding, leaving other areas of his body open. She kicked again, the bridge of her foot connecting with the soft skin between the Ox-Man's legs. 

  
  


That was all Hitomi needed. She hopped over the body, running towards the area she hoped would take her to freedom. 

  
  


****To Be Continued


	9. Escape Death... or not

  
  
  
  


Van splashed water on his face, and stared at himself in the mirror. He was being such a dick. Here he was, sitting in his room, quietly moping! He was a King, and the Queen of his country had just been kidnapped. He should be out doing things: organizing a search part to bring back Lady Hyrule, sending spies to search for information, telling his countrymen everything would be alright, and most importantly, he should be out there looking for Hitomi!

  
  


In a fiery mood, he nearly ran from his room. "Lord Wernym!" he shouted, almost angrily. He was, in fact, furious, but not at Lady Wernym. He was mad at himself for sitting around feeling sorry for himself, and mad at the people who kidnapped Hitomi. 

  
  


Lord Wernym skirted around the corner, Merle only a few steps behind. The young council member looked quite startled at having been yelled at. King Van hardly ever was in a foul mood. Before Hitomi arrived, he had always been to busy day dreaming about her to be angry. He tried to bow, but King Van just brushed right by him. Lord Wernym hurried to walk behind him, following his brisk pace. "You called, King Van?" 

  
  


"Yes, Wernym, send scouts along the road. I want to know the instant Lady Hyrule returns. Call the Spymaster, tell him to send one his trusted minions to keep a close watch on Prime Minister Hyrule. Merle?" 

  
  


Merle stepped up beside her best friend. "Yes, Van?"

  
  


"I want you to go and try to find out whatever you can to connect Lady Hyrule to the kidnappers. Okay?" 

  
  


She smiled up at him proudly. Merle would gladly go and ask around. People who weren't familiar with her with completely terrified of her, and she could get into places no one else could. "Van.... are you...." 

  
  


"Precisely." Van stopped walking to look at the pink-haired cat-girl. Lord Wernym almost ended up walking into them. "You managed to sneak stuff away from Hitomi all those years ago. You don't even have to be sneaky. Tell them I sent you to get a paper from her, and she must have left it in her office. I have complete and total faith in you."

  
  


Her eyes got larger as he spoke, and her smile grew brighter. Merle threw her arms around his neck and licked him happily, her tail waving high above her head. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Van! I'll make you proud, I promise!" Merle had been beginning to think she was going to have to sit around the palace and do nothing while Hitomi had been missing. "Oh Lord Van, it's good to have you back! I was beginning to miss you!" 

  
  


"Okay, okay Merle... Merle get off me! Your tongue is tickling me!" Van smiled, laughed, and tried to push Merle off of him. 

  
  


She stopped and saluted him, before running off, leaving Van smiling amusedly and Lord Wernym looking positively muddled. 

  
  


"King Van, exactly what is Merle to do?"

  
  


"Oh, well...." Van rubbed the back of his head. "Wernym, sometimes these things can't be won without a bit of conniving. So, I pretty much send Merle to sneak into Lady Hyrule's estate and to find something that would connect her to Hitomi's kidnapping."

  
  


Wernym's mouth opened in aghast. "Your majesty! You can't do that! You need the proper legal papers! There will be forms and forms to sign before the proper document for a police or Imperial guard investigation of the states belonging to Lord and Lady Hyrule can be properly investiga..." 

  
  


"You know, you talk too much." The King of Fanelia pointed out. Wernym's mouth opened up further. "Put it to some good use. Let the people of my Kingdom know that everything is alright, and that everything that can be done to find my wife *is* being done, understood?" 

  
  
  
  


"Y... yes my King!" Wernym stuttered. "King Van, what... what are you going to do?"

  
  


"I'm going to fly around and see if I can feel Hitomi." Van hopped up on the window sill. "We're very strongly connected. It may be possible that I'll be able to sense her presence if I get close enough to her." He spread his white wings, causing Wernym to take a cautious step back so as not to be hit. "Wish me luck."

  
  


Van took off flapping, searching for any sign of his love.

  
  


*****

  
  


Dryden opened the door quietly and took the last look at his wife. Walking silently to her side, he wrapped his arms around her waist, hearing give a small gasp in surprise. Closing his eyes and sighing heavily, Drdyen apologized to her. 

  
  


"Sorry? For what?" Millerna asked, wishing she could see his face. She felt him open her hand and place something small, hard, and warm in it. It was circular. She could feel the tears start to come to her eyes and she blinked them away. When she spoke again, she could hear the painful waver in her voice. "You're leaving me? Again?"

  
  


Again. How Dryden hated that word. He hated that word almost as much as he hated off and on relationships. He continued to hold Millerna close. "Yes. I am. I'm so sorry for putting you through all of this, but now I realised my mistake." Dryden slowly opened his eyes. "I've been leading you on. Myself. And worse than the two of us, our daughter. All of us were blind." 

  
  


"Blind? Blind to what?" Millerna tore out of his embrace to face him on their bed. "I don't understand, Dryden! How have I been led on? How were we blind? Please, explain it to me!" 

  
  


"Do you remember, when we were married? Before the great battle?" Dryden raised his eyes and he saw Millerna nod. His words caught in his throat. He didn't want to do this to her, and especially not for a second time, but he couldn't live with himself if he stayed with her. "I gave you back my wedding ring, and told you that I would make you love. That one day I would be back for you and I would have found away for you to love me as much as you loved Allen, or as Van loved Hitomi."

  
  


"Yes, I remember that. How could I forget?" 

  
  


He continued on, avoiding her hurt look. He also didn't like dragging things up from the past, but he had to get Millerna to understand. "I was wrong. I can't make you love me, Millerna. I was damned even for trying. So that's why I have to leave."

  
  


"Because you made a mistake? No! That's not fair, Dryden!" Millerna clutched at his sleeves hopelessly. "Stay. Please, stay. If not for me, or for yourself, then for Pandora!" 

  
  


"Pandora is part of the reason why I have to leave." Dryden told her quietly. "She's young, and it's not right that she's raised in a place where people are pretending. Pretending to be a family, pretending to be truly happy, pretending to love each other...." Millerna opened her mouth to speak, but Dryden placed a callused finger on her lips to silence her. He smiled at her kindly, a wise and knowing but sorrowful smile. "You don't have to say a word. I know, you can stop pretending." His face grew slightly happier. "Or maybe you don't realize that yet. The truth is, I love you, but you don't love me. That isn't true love, so I want to get out there and find my true love, and so that you can find yours. That will mean our beautiful daughter will grow up happy, in a family environment. Batter to live with two families that love each other deeply then one that goes around blind."

  
  


Dryden stood up off the bed. Bending over, he cupped Millerna's chin and lightly kissed her lips. "I truly am sorry. I'll have my things moved to another room immediately, and send someone for the proper papers." 

  
  


Without another word, Dryden strode from the room, leaving Millerna bewildered and clutching his wedding ring.

  
  


*****

  
  


Right. Left. Straight. Back. Wrong way! Dead End! LIGHT!

  
  
  
  


Hotomi followed the way her pendant swung in her mind. She kept telling it to point the way towards the door that would take her outside, but that wasn't exactly the brightest thing to say. Her powers weren't perfect, and they only told her what she wanted to know. She wanted to know where the door was, but instead of showing her the path she should take, her pendant in her mind showed her where the door was, and sometimes that was through a wall. 

  
  


Eventually, Hitomi found the exit, and thankfully avoided any confrontations. She looked behind her, pausing to take in the building. Tall and matchbox, there had to be several levels. It looked as though at one time had been an apartment building of some sort, but now the obscene white building seemed to be abandoned. 

  
  


She shrugged and hurried along, but not before a large shadow flew overhead. Hitomi didn't have time to look up and see what it was, especially if it had been some sort of a dragon. It had seemed large enough to be a reptile. Hitomi saw something flutter down from the sky. Sunlight glinted off of it, and she smiled, immediately recognizing it. Even blind she would know a feather from one of Van's wings. 

  
  


Arms wrapped around her waist, and for a moment her feet where lifted off the ground as Hitomi was hugged from behind. She found it hard to breath in Van's tight embrace but somehow managed to laugh all the same. "It took you long enough, Van. I had to save myself." 

  
  


Van turned her around to face him and smiled teasingly, happy that she was unhurt enough to tease him. "Well, Lord Wernym wouldn't let me come rescue you until I had signed all the necessary documents and papers. Rescuign royalty has a lot of red tape attached to it, and you wouldn't believe how life insurance costs fly up." 

  
  


Letting go of Hitomi he began pulling at the back of her shirt. Hitomi demanded to know what he was doing. "I want to make sure that they didn't hurt you." Van said quietly. His roan eyes looked at her, full of worry over her well being. 

  
  


"I'm fine, Van. You can check me over later and play doctor all you want. I promise." Hitomi chewed her lip her mind racing. "I just figured out how to capture my kidnappers, and I don't mean the two men in there. They actually are very kind, and should be rewarded for that. They only kidnapped me because they needed the money!"

  
  


"What exactly did you have in mind?" Van asked his wife curiously. She smiled up at him slyly, and Van smiled back with a lopsided grin. "Oh Gods, I missed you!" Pulling her close, Van tilted her back and kissed her with the pain of separation for only a single day.

  
  


*****Several Hours Later

  
  


Merle heard footsteps behind her and dove into the closest. Her breathing was fast and ragged because of being suddenly scared, but it was quiet. Merle could be as silent as death himself when needed, and it was needed. She was not to be caught sneaking around Lady Hyrule's rooms! 

  
  


Someone slammed open the door not with anger, but rather with hurry. Lady Hyrule swarmed into her chambers in a breeze of heavy perfume and nervousness. The two combined together made Merle's cat senses want to retch. Lady Hyrule grabbed a letter opener from her desk, causing Merle's tail to puff up like a mutated marshmallow. 

  
  


'Lady Hyrule knows I'm here! She's gonna kill me with a letter opened and wear my tail as a scarf!' Merle clutched at the tail she loved so much helplessly. Blinking, she let it go and narrowed her eyes at the wife of the Prime Minister. 'Wait a minute! I'm not scared of you! Bring IT ON!' 

  
  


Throwing the envelope on the ground, Lady Hyrule began to read the letter out loud. "'Dear Patron, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah.... much consideration.... need money.... Ah ha! Here it is! 'Hitomi Kanzaki Fanel has been killed. We tied her up in the woods and left her for the dragons that live in them. In only a matter of hours, there were only bones left. We burnt the rope and left the bones, along with two other sets, so that if the guards ever find them, they will believe both the Queen and her kidnappers perished. We hope this suits to your interest. We expect payment soon.'" Hyrule crumpled the note and threw it in the waist basket. She then took a lighter match, all the while humming to herself, and striking the match, she said: "It pleases me greatly." 

  
  


Merle had both hands clamped tightly over her mouth, and tears streamed down her face. Hitomi.... was dead? Hitomi couldn't be dead! Merle wouldn't believe it. She could feel the rage building inside her and Merle just wanted to leap out of that closet, using her teeth and nails to rip Lady Hyrule into shreds! She wanted to see her body broken and bleeding, without even a single breath of life in her lungs! Hitomi was family now, and even though Merle could still put in a bad word in now and then about her, nobody else could! Even when she despised Hitomi, Merle still didn't bring herself to such low depths! 

  
  


She dropped one hand and dug her nails into the wooden floor, ripping it up badly. Van wouldn't want her to do it. Van would want to deal with Lady Hyrule in his own way, and what Merle wanted was just as bad as what Lady Hyrule had done. Revenge was not legal, and even being a close family friend to Van wouldn't get her out of law's way. Revenge was just as illegal and was, infact, cold-blooded murder. 

  
  


Van would have to deal with her himself...

  
  


Looking down at the floor of the closet, Merle spied the only piece of evidence she could find, and shoved it into her pocket. It was a copy of a letter, from Lady Hyrule's writing pad. Whenever she wrote on it, the writing instrument would leave an imprinted copy on the page underneath. Going over the top sheet on the pad with a bit of ink, the imprinted letters remained white while the paper turned dark, allowing a person to see what someone else had last written. Luckliy, Merle had read it over and had discovered it was an order from Lady Hyrule for the kidnappers to execute Hitomi. 

  
  


Of course, even after finding the letter, Merle had been shocked almost senseless by the news of Hitomi's death. She had been expecting Van to find Hitomi in time, but it appeared not to be so. Only a few days after their marriage, and Hitomi was dead... Not even a week together. Worse, from a political point of view, no heir to take over the throne. 

  
  


She shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks, although it did no good because more kept coming. Tensing her muscles, she prepared herself for the dash from the rooms that would ensue after Lady Hyrule left. The moment it happened, Merle was out of the closest, across the room, and out the window, climbing from the sill to the drain pipe and up unto the roof. Jumping from roof to roof with a cat-woman's accuracy. Merle made a beeline for the palace.

  
  


*****To Be Continued

  
  


AN: Writing some of this made me think.... Hitomi and Van were ordered to spend as much time together as possible. So what if Hitomi got pregnant? What would she have? Boy or girl? On child, twins, triplets, hell, sextuplets? What would she name them? After Van's parents, someone she knew from Earth (like Yukari) or maybe someone that died in the war (like Folken or Cheid's father -not the biological one.)? What do you think? 

By the way, I had exams and writer's block, sorry this took so long, but I hope you'll enjoy this!


	10. Merle!

Well, LiLsTaRoFdEsTiNy, you see there was more to it than that. See, I also got my wisdom teeth removed, and they had me on painkillers with codeine, so I really didn't want to write this while I was taking those. Plus, the other things I posted were either saved on my computer already, or else they are song fics. (Okay, all of them were song fics, because song fics were the only things I could write while drugged up since they only take me ½ an hour to write at the most, and I don't have to think about them, I just have to follow the lyrics.) Sorry if I mad you mad. Hope this next part makes it all better. 

******

  
  


Merle scrambled over the wall of the palace. True, she could have walked through the doors of the with much more ease, but Merle found the exercise enjoyable after the information she'd received only moments before. 

  
  


Hitomi was dead.

  
  


It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, it wasn't a lot of things. But that wasn't up to Merle to decide. That was up to the fates for Lady Hyrule's eternal punishment, and Van for the earthly one. However, Merle would be first in line if the fates needed her. So would a lot of people. Even if Hyrule escaped, she'd be hunted everywhere she went, the people of Fanelia loved Hitomi. 

  
  


What was she going to say to Van? Merle skidded to a stop. How in the world was she going to tell Van that Hitomi was dead? It would break his heart! 

  
  


'_You alright?_' someone asked, making Merle jump. She turned around to see the Royal Chef, Jerome, standing behind her. No wonder she hadn't picked up the footsteps of anybody, he was as quiet as her. '_You seem distressed_.' Jerome said in their native language. 

  
  


'_How do you tell someone something you know they won't want to hear?_' Merle's accent was heavy, not having been taught the language from birth like Jerome. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. She thought he was as good looking as Van: tall, broad shouldered but of a light build like a wild cat, golden eyes and bright orange hair, with black stripes across his body just like Merle. However, people tended to look down at him because of the lighter orange tail and ears, and the fact that because he couldn't speak Gaea's native language very well, so people thought he was slow and child-like. In reality, Merle knew her friend was quite wise and that was why she asked him. 

  
  


Jerome was quiet for a moment,before speaking again. '_What you do is you muster up all the courage you have, and you have to tell them, as long as it's important. Maybe getting painful news from a friend is better then from a stranger, so..._' Jerome closed the space between them and hugged Merle tightly. '_That's one of the things I like about you. You care so much about others and are worried about there welfare._'

  
  


She was quiet with shock before smiling lightly. '_I wasn't always. Deep down inside I'm still a complete bitch. If rumours got out I was nice, my reputation would go down the drain._' Merle said in her defensive. She pushed him away with an almost playfully attitude. '_I have to go. Van needs me.'_

  
  


Turning from her cat friend, she turned and ran, but Jerome grabbed her wrist before she could get anywhere. Pulling her close, Jerome tilted her head and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Blushing as he let go, he whispered her a good luck, and _he_ fled, leaving Merle with heavier thoughts than she needed at the moment.

  
  


******

  
  


Van was located in his room. Merle knocked on the door and a quiet voice told her to entire. The room didn't have a single light lit, but Merle could see anyway. Van was sitting on his bed clad only in boxers. His hair was dishevelled, he was yawning but had a twinkle in his eye. Merle also noted the bed was in shambles, and she shook her head. 

  
  


'Poor Lord Van. He must be a restless sleeper now what with Hitomi missing and all.' Merle thought to herself. She edged closer to the bed, unphased by Van's lack of garments. "Van, listen, there are some things in life that we don't want to hear and this is one of them."

  
  


"What is it?" Van was up from the bed and across the room to Merle like lightning. He grabbed her by her shoulders, shaking her lightly. "What is it Merle? Weren't you able to search Lady Hyrule's room? Were you not able to find anything? Were you caught? Damn it Merle, tell me!"

  
  


"I haven't even gotten to tell you yet." Merle pried his hand off her shoulder. "It's about Hitomi. She.... She...." Merle tried to speak, but she could feel the tears coming and running from her eyes. She blinked to get them out of the way, but more kept taking their place. Her shoulders began to shake, followed by her entire body ensuing the motion. Merle was trembling with tears from head to toe. She suddenly wished Van was holding her again. In a moment her wish came true and she found herself in a comforting hug.

  
  
  
  


"Hitomi...." Merle cried, watching her tears drip from her chin to Van's chest before reaching the floor. "Hitomi's dead, Van! Lady Hyrule ordered her death! She's dead!"

  
  


"Oh, poor Merle." Van whispered quietly, rubbing her back and brushing her pink hair. "I'm so sorry. I never thought you'd hear about Hitomi's death...." 

  
  


Merle wiped away some of tears and looked up to Van. He wasn't in shock, or crying, or mad, or anything else Merle thought he'd be when he found out. Instead, he was smiling down at her, looking as if he was trying to keep from laughing. "W... what's going on, Van?" She felt another hand on her shoulder, and she looked down to see a feminine hand that wore a ring tat was quite familiar on her ring finger. Merle's eyes widened and she slowly turned around to see even more familiar green eyes and brown hair. "Hi.... Hitomi?"

  
  


The obviously not dead Hitomi Kanzaki Fanel smiled. Letting go of Merle's shoulder, looking at her apologetically. "Sorry, Merle, but I really didn't think you'd find out about that." Hitomi was expecting Merle to start crying again, or else get extremely pissed and try to jump her. What actually happened was Merle literally pushed Van away and glomped Hitomi tighter than she had ever glomped anybody. She was practically lifting Hitomi off the floor, her tail waving behind her, imitating a wild snake. She was liking Hitomi like crazy, repeating: 'Oh, I missed you! Hitomi, I'm so glad you're okay!' Hitomi didn't push Merle away, but instead hugged her back. "I missed you too..." 

  
  


Eventually, Merle realized that Hitomi was still wearing her tank top and shorts. Combined with Van's lack of clothes and the messy bed, Merle assumed she mus have interrupted something and she sheepishly began to creep towards the door. "Sorry, Lord Van...."

  
  


Van saw where her mind was going, and he sighed, sitting back down on the bed. "Merle, you've really become quite perverse. We were just sleeping. It's still amazes us to wake up seeing the others' face..." Hitomi sat beside him on the bed, and Van caught her hand with his, smiling at her happilly. Turning back to Merle, the dopey 'I'm-married-to-the-woman-of-my-dreams' smile still plastered to his face, he asked her to keep Hitomi's whereabouts a secret. 

  
  


"You got it Lord Van!" With a quick victory sign, Merle went off to do whatever cat-women do, and leaving Hitomi and Van to once again realize they were back in each other's company.

  
  


*****To Be Continued

Actually, lovely reviewers, I haven't given a thought as to what Van should do with Lady Hyrule. What do you recommend? ^_^


	11. Punishments of Mind

  
  
  
  


Lady Hyrule read the letter over again to make sure she had gotten it right. King Van had summoned all of his most trusted advisors to his Council Room to discuss the three bodies found only a few hours ago. One of them was his wife, her wedding ring still round her ring finger. As the wife of Prime Minister Hyrule, she had been invited. 

  
  


She was a bit surprised at the speed that the bodies at been discovered, but Lady Hyrule brushed the thought away. Of course Van would be able to find the bodies soon, he'd have his guards scouring the country side looking for his beloved wife. Lady Hyrule pulled a rope that would clang a bell downstairs in the servants quarters, signalling her maids. She would need to wear something special for the occasion...

  
  


*****

  
  


Merle looked around the room, wondering who else knew that Hitomi was actually alive. Merle looked very pale and even a bit yellowish, but Merle didn't know what from. Dryden had moved his things to another room, and she wondered what they had told Pandora. Or even if she knew yet. Pandora had a merchant's keen eye, but she could be a little naive sometimes. At the moment, the child was busy keeping close to her cousin, the only other person in the room near to her age group. Cheid looked like he was either ready to start crying or strike down Lady Hyrule the moment she appeared. Every once in a while he would smile down at Pandora, as if to reassure her. Dryden was boring holes into peoples head from his spot near the back of the room. Allen was also near the back of the room, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed in what looked like meditation. Merle couldn't tell who knew or who didn't. 

  
  


But then, Van had suddenly called a Council meeting, and no one seemed to know what it was about. Merle didn't even know for sure what it was about, but she had a damn good guess. The rumour of Hitomi's death had gone nowhere fast. Van sent only one letter of the supposed bodies, and that was to Lady Hyrule. It was only by pure chance that Merle was there when the Prime Minister's wife read it. Everyone in the Fanelian empire still believed Hitomi was kidnapped, and that soon she'd be found perfectly all right. Or so they hoped.

  
  


Van entered the room looking emotionless. Not happy, not mad, not upset, just emotionless. The Council, Merle included, stood up when he entered and sat down only after he did. Van closed his hands and leaned on them with his chin, elbows on the table and eyes closed. "So...." he said. There was a long moment of silence, before Van slowly opened on eye. He'd thought awhile about just how to tell people that Hitomi was alive, and decided that perhaps the direct approach was best. "We found Hitomi." 

  
  


The Council let out a loud cheer, and people immediately began to congratulate Van, who still remained emotionless. It was the usually quiet and cheerful Lady June who put an end to the celebration, however. She slammed her hands down on the table, leaning forward. Her eyes were large, and she looked quiet scared, but despite her body language her voice was quiet. "But.... Van... I mean," she blushed and began to sit back down, feeling the Council's eyes watch her every move. "King Van, did they find your wife... unharmed?" 

  
  


His stone-like face broke, unable to keep looking emotionless at the thought of Hitomi. "She's got a few bumps and bruises, but that's it." Van continued smiling while he explained his plan.

  
  


*****

  
  


Millerna looked across the room at Dryden, not really paying attention to Van. She heard him say that she was supposed to continue looking sad, and Millerna gave a little snort. She had been divorced.... again! How else was she supposed to look? 

  
  


But.... but maybe Dryden was right. Maybe they weren't right for each other. The pain she was feeling, it wasn't the pain of loss. Well, part of it was. Most of the pain she was feeling was from the loss of a husband, just the fact that she had bene dumped period. Sure, she missed Dryden a lot, but instead of thinking if him, she found herself thinking more of Pandora, what she should do next, not of how much she missed Dryden. 

  
  


Every once in a while, the thought of him would slip out and Millerna would wonder why she wasn't warmer in the morning, or why there wasn't somebody barking at the door for him to be let in while she was in the shower. But that would quickly be replaced by other things. The whole ordeal was giving Millerna a migraine!

Was she really not missing Dryden, or was she just trying to kid herself so that she found his words more believable? 

  
  


******

  
  


She was staring at Dryden. Dryden was staring at the floor. Allen was staring at Millerna. So, Dryden had moved his things to another room. They'd broken up again. Last time, Allen hadn't made a single move. He had been much to preoccupied with his little sister. Now that she was older.... maybe he could... But, he'd still have to wait. After all, Millerna was still vulnerable...

  
  


*****

  
  


The guards opened the doors for Lady Hyrule, and she entered the Council room wearing a long black dress that sparkled when she moved. If anybody asked her why it was so dressy, she'd simply say it was the only black dress she owned that fit her properly. To Lady Hyrule, however, the dress was perfect, as she saw the whole day as one long celebration. Hitomi Kanzaki, the other-wordly Seer was dead, and some Draconian-Mystic Mooner could not take the throne now. Now, all that was left was to take care of King Van. Hitomi's death was like killing two birds with one stone. 

  
  


Living in a time of peace, Van did not have a taster. It would be easy to slip something into the food or wine every night at dinner, then when her husband could no longer by the Prime Minister, the poison would not be found in hsi food and he would die from with drawl. A natural death, with no possible connection to her since she was not even near the palace when King Van died. The death would look natural, and people may even link it to Hitomi's death as she hoped, believing that Van died from heartache.

  
  


She looked around at everybody's long faces, and put on her best front. She knelt down by Van, and took his hand, kissing the wedding ring he wore. Rasing her head, she pinched herself beneath her dress to make herself cry. "Oh Your Majesty.... I'm so sorry...." 

  
  


Van took his eyes from the table, and stared right into Lady Hyrule's. He saw reflected in the eyes the predatory look of blood lust, not unlike the look Dilandau had in his. Van squeezed his other hand to keep from shoving the traitor away from him. Oh, the things he wished he could do. But not even the King was above the law, and he had to play his part. "Sorry?" he repeated, his voice sounding confused. "Sorry for what, Lady Hyrule?"

  
  


Lady Hyrule blinked, before excusing it. Van was probably just getting muddled from the pain of losing his wife. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife's death, King Van. She was quite a woman, and I'm sure we will all miss her." Lady Hyrule managed a smile and turned to look at the rest of the Council. "Won't we?" She looked around the room, and gasped in surprise when she got to the far side. 

  
  


Standing in the corner was Hitomi. She was dressed all in white, and looked quite pale, with a stern look written on her face. Pointing a finger at Lady Hyrule, she spoke with a voice Lady Hyrule had only heard described before by those who had seen her go into a vision. "You. It was you. You were the one." 

  
  


No one else seemed to have heard Queen Hitomi speak, and no one else seemed to hear her. But then, she was also dead. 

  
  


Hitomi moved closer, still pointing at Lady Hyrule and speaking in that other worldly voice. "It _was_ you. I can see it. My blood is covering your hands. They will stain you permanently. Every where you go, they will be dripping with my life that you stole. Thief!" 

  
  


"I...." Lady Hyurle's voice was trembling. "I know that I will miss her." She smiled wryly. "I will probably see her face everywhere I look." 

  
  


"Yes, you will." Hitomi's ghost said. "I will guarantee that. I will always be hovering a round you, around my blood. Go on, Lady Hyrule, look at your hands. They are covered with my blood, aren't they?" 

  
  


Not taking lightly to being called a coward, Lady Hyrule dared a look at her hands. Sure

enough, they were covered with bright red blood. It was thick, running down her wrists to catch on van's pants where they ran to the floor, creating a pool of blood that she was sitting red smack dab in the middle of. She looked behind her to see brilliant drops of red blood splattering the ground where she had walked, and looking down at her dress she saw the hand prints of blood covering her black dress. Her jaw dropped, and she looked back at Quuen Hitomi, who was nodding, and worse yet, walking right through her husband! Lady Hyrule felt the blood drop rush from her face, and the room began to spin. 

  
  


"Blood. It will mark everywhere you go until the end of time, Hyrule. I will be able to find you no matter where you hide, and so will every one else. There is only one way to get rid of it." 

  
  


"Confess?" Lady Hyrule asked out loud. If she looked at the Council members, she would have seen them look at each other with confused expressions. 

  
  


"Precisely." 

  
  


"No! The punishment is death! I can't do it!" 

  
  


"Then I suppose we will be spending a lot more time getting to know each other, Lady Hyrule. Tell me, what is your favourite colour?" Hitomi asked, kneeling in the pool of blood next to her killer. The red did not seep into her dress, and Lady Hyrule found herself shaking at the sight of a wingless angel in a bloody bath. "Red?" 

  
  


Van put a calm hand on Lady Hyrule's shoulder, going right through Hitomi as he did so. "Lady Hyrule, are you all right?" 

  
  


She looked right past him, although to other it appeared as though she was talking to him. "You deserved to die. It's not my fault, so don't blame me. You are the one who drove me to do it. When Van asked you to marry him, you could have said no, in which case I wouldn't needed to have order your death." 

  
  


"I know I'm going to sound like my mother when I say this, but you have no one to blame but yourself for your actions. My hands are not covered in my own blood, your hands hold it, because I did not order my own death, you did it for me." 

  
  


"Fine!" Lady Hyrule screamed. "I did it! Yes, I admit it!" real tears began to roll down her cheeks, and her body shook even harder with a mixture of hate and fear. "I killed you! Now, leave me alone! I don't want to be haunted by ghosts! Leave me ALONE!" With the pain of a scream filled with all the hate and fear she had been holding in for such a long time in her life, Hitomi vanished from Lady Hyrule's sight, leaving her realizing what she had just done.

  
  


She gave a small gasp in surprise, and stepped away from Van, whiping away the tears that had helped to prove her guiltyness. The Council didn't look sad anymore, it looked like a mob. The entire group scowled at her, even her husband, Lord Wernym and Lady June, the weakest, meekest, and shyest people there! (In that order.) 

  
  


"It's true then." Lord Hyrule said slowly, hanging his head in shame. "You did set the whole thing up." 

  
  


She began backing up even more, feeling very trapped. "Set up what up? My love, I did nothing. Why.... why are you all staring at me like that!?" she screamed, trying to think of some excuse for the words she'd already said out loud.. The pain of having every one staring at her felt like a thousand holes being burned into her, like she was being dissected under their gaze. Lady Hyrule backed up further, and hit something soft. She very slowly turned around. 

  
  


Van stood up, and held out his hand. "Lady Hyrule, I think you've been mislead. My wife is alive and well." 

  
  


Hitomi stood in the door, wearing not the long white dress she'd previously seen her in, but a green one. Was it possible for Hitomi to have changed so quickly? No. Was it possible that all she had seen was part of her guilty conscious? Lady Hyrule snuck a quick glance at her hands and the floor. They were still covered in Hitomi's bright red blood. She looked up to see Hitomi stare at her as unemotionally as if Van had taught her himself. "Hello, Lady Hyrule."

  
  


"But.... but... but the letter..." she stammered quietly. 

  
  


"If you are talking about the letter addressed to you from the kidnappers you hired, then that was all a forgery. Guards, bring them in!" he shouted. The doors opened and the two kidnappers were brought in. Van looked at each of them, and handed them a piece of paper. "Is this the handwriting on the letter you received?" he asked them, indicating a paper that had Lady Hyrule's handwriting on it. The larger man nodded. Van asked him for the letters and he was handed them, which he put down on the table. "I show you Evidence A. Identical from Lady Hyrule and the plotter of the kidnapping." 

  
  


Allen placed a rough hand on lady Hyrule's shoulder, guiding her to a chair close to the table. "You may want to sit down." he said, his voice so cold it was like ice. "This may take awhile."

  
  


*****

  
  


Van clasped his hands and looked around at his Council. "This is the evidence. So now, we must take a vote. Is Lady Hyrule guilty or not?" 

  
  


Lady Hyrule had quickly realized that the evidence was stacked against her. Hell she'd even confessed. Now all she had to do was to let the Council decide on her innocence and punishment. She'd tried to kill a member of the Royal family, and that was an offense punishable by death. She could only hope that it was a quick one, beheading hopefully. 

  
  


Everyone spoke in a cold voice as they told King Van that she was guilty. The last person to say anything was her husband. She looked at him pleadingly, but he was fixed on Van. "Guilty." He said, using that same cold voice as everyone else. 

  
  


She had been stupid to hope for anything else. Theirs was a marriage of state, and not of love. He needed an heir, she needed money. 

Van looked at his wife, and asked her if she was going to cast a vote for or against Lady Hyrule. She shook her head, saying: "It wouldn't be right.", making Van nod. He understood perfectly. Of course Hitomi would say that Lady Hyrule was guilty, but she was also the victim, not the jury. 

  
  


"Al right, then." He looked around at his Council and nodded, before turning back to Lady Hyrule. "You, lady Hyrule, are hereby stripped of all titles and anything that is attached to it, including lands and money." Her eyes widened in fear, waiting for the final blow. "As punishment for the attempted murder of a Royal Family Member, I hereby order you to death. Lady June, have you got the arrest papers?" 

  
  


"Yes, sir." Lady June said, holding them up proudly after taking a moment to dig through her large bags. He asked her to fill one out for Lady Hyrule (though she wasn't Lady Hyrule anymore), and within a minute the legal documents were necessary were filled out as the Royal Guards filled into the room. 

  
  


"Guards, take her down to the dungeon, and lock her in the darkest, dankest cell you can find. I'll decided her fate later." he ordered. Van watched almost angrily as the guards guided the former Lady Hyrule out of the room. He wished she had gone down kicking and screaming, but he could see how disturbed she was anyway. That was good enough. 

  
  


Lord Hyrule looked at the King of Fanelia after his ex-wife had left the room. "King Van, exactly what are you going to do with her? Beheading? Drowning? Letting her loose in the forest for the dragons?" 

  
  


"None of them." he heard some people give a small gasp in surprise, and he turned to look at them, pulling his own wife closer to him. "In all my nine years of being King, I haven't yet had to sign a death sentence, and I won't start doing it now. Let her sit in the dungeon, fearing her own death until that fears kills her." 

  
  


"But... But sir!" Lord Wernym cried, standing up. "If she gets out, she'll just go right after you two again!" 

  
  


"Then let her." Hitomi said, trying to calm him down. "I don't think she'd get very far in a castle full of guards." 

  
  


"Besides," Van smiled, and stood up to kiss Hitomi lightly on the cheek. "I think Hitomi proved she could defend herself just fine." He was standing so close to her, he could feel the heat coming off her cheeks as she blushed at the compliment. No, marriage hadn't changed their relationship a single bit. Other then getting a lot more physical. 

  
  


"Speaking of guards, Van...." Hitomi reminded him, raising an eyebrow. Van nodded, and Hitomi called the guards to bring in their two guests. 

  
  


The two kidnappers, Rave and Boss, entered the room, and knelt down by the standing Royal Couple. "Your majesties, you called us." 

  
  


"Meet the people who managed to kidnap Hitomi, ladies and gentlemen." Van happily introduced them to his Council. It was times like this he loved being King. Leaning against the table, he spoke again. "Now, I believe that a reward is due for such behaviour." 

  
  


"A reward?! Your majesties!" Lord Wernym protested, and shot out of his seat again. Van wondered if there was a spring hidden in there. "They kidnapped your wife, and you are going to reward them for this?!" 

  
  


"No." Hitomi answered. She began to explain to them how she had heard Boss say he wouldn't kill the Queen, and though a few members of the Council were still apprehensive, they could not overthrow the King's command unless it was a unanimous decision. A few dark looks were shot in Lady June's direction but she juts shrugged, saying that loyalty deserved it's reward. 

  
  


"Besides." The sweet spoken secretary concluded. "They did it because they didn't have money, so money would be the best thing to give them so that they won't do it again since they won't have a reason to do it. Although the balance of money between the rich and the poor has balanced out since the Destiny War, there are still a lot of people out there that don't have enough money and can't find jobs. So then they try to move and find that it's harder to get jobs in other towns and cities because you're an immigrant and people don't trust you." Heads began to nod, seeing her point. 

  
  


"Also," Hitomi finished up. "We want to be able to keep Boss and Rave right where people can see them, and we can keep an eye on them. That's right here in the palace." Lord Wernym began to protest again, but he was shut down by a few nasty looks. "So, Van and I ahve decided to give you two jobs as the Royal Guards in the palace." 

  
  


"Royal Guards?" Rave smiled. "Wow, that's a nice gesture, your majesty!" he elbowed Boss. "Hey, hey hey! Did you hear, we gots us some jobs in the Royal palace!" 

  
  


"I heard, I heard." Boss said, ignoring the other's shoving.

  
  


*****

  
  


"Millerna..." Allen hung back as the people began to file out of the Council Room. He could hear Lord Wernym ask Hitomi how she had made Lady Hyrule see her ghost, and other bits of conversation, but his voice still made the Queen of Asturia stop and look his way. Allen raised his head, blue eyes looking a bit distant. "Millerna, could you wait for moment, please? I'd like to talk to you." 

  
  


She hung back until they were the only people left in the room, and she sat down in one of the Council chairs. "Yes, Sir Allen?" 

  
  


Without meaning to, the words cut him. Millerna must have been very tired. She*never* called him Sir Allen. The only times she did that was when she was too tired and courtly manners took control, she was angry at him, or was teasing him. 'My poor Millerna...' Allen stood beside her, and placed a friendly hand on her shoulders, leaning close to her. "Millerna, I know that you and Dryden have split up, and you can come to me any time you want to." 

  
  


His hand slipped, and he knelt by her side, hugging her tightly. "I'll always be here for you to use my shoulder, I promise you." He felt Millerna's hand encircle his higher back, and her head rest upon his shoulder. He could barely hear her whisper his name. 

  
  


Allen raised his hand again, after peeling off his white gloves he always wore to brush her hair. It felt like strands of sunlight, or the softest hay. Closing his eyes, he was a bit surprised to find that he fund it easy to speak. Maybe that was simply because he had been born to be knight, leading people was his destiny. 

  
  


"I.... I was also hoping that maybe... Maybe when you've thought everything out and you feel comfortable, we could maybe go out for dinner, or something." Millerna was very quiet, and Allen began to feel he needed to explain himself. "You see... After Hitomi left, you were single again, but I was too afraid that maybe I might scare you away or hurt you if I starting telling you that I wanted to be with you. Then Dryden came back, and I didn't have a choice. So, this time around, I want to tell you know so that I won't have to lose you again. I don't care how long it takes, I'm willing to wait, as long as I won't lose you again." 

  
  


Millerna and Allen stayed hugging for a very long time, both of them actually finding the silence comforting. As they left and parted ways, Allen to go and stir up a bit of trouble in the Knight's quarters to keep them on their toes, and Millerna to find her blonde daughter and pack, Millerna began to think to herself. 

  
  


'Maybe... Maybe if we can stay like that, and not need to have words between us... just like it was before.... then maybe I do still love Allen.' she smiled softly, rubbing her chin. 'Still, he doesn't have a beard that tickles like Dryden when he kisses you.' 

  
  


********* THE END 

  
  



	12. Epilogue

(And now, the epilogue.) 

EPILOGUE 

  
  


****1 month later.*****

  
  


"So," Hitomi but down the teacup. "You and Allen have started dating?" 

  
  


"Yes." Millerna was on another quick visit to Fanelia, this time though, it was for a different matter then marriage. "I realize that maybe after being married to Dryden for more than 5 years it was a little soon, but it's more then just my needs that are telling me to do it. I don't like having Pandora without a constant father she can turn to for a males point of vies, since she only sees Dryden twice a month, and I definitely don't like Asturia not having a King. Allen is acting as all of those, officially or not. And I love Allen. Besides, it's only casually dating. There's nothing serious about talking over a cup of tea." 

  
  


Hitomi smiled, and brushed her short cropped hair out of her eyes. It had gotten much too long for her, and she cut it back to the same way she had it when she and Van first mer. Van had said he liked it much better that way, but he also had said that she could go bald and he'd still love the way she had her hair. Hitomi felt so lucky. 

  
  


Pandora burst threw the door. "Mommy! Mommy!" she shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. "Uncle Van wants to know if I can go horse back riding with him. Can I? Can I? Can I please? I promise that I'll be really super de dooper good! I'll be on my Court manners too! And Uncle Van is good at math, so he can help me with it while I ride! Or he can explain to me the history of Fanelia! I just know that Uncle Van would make it a so much more intewsting then my tutor!" she said, once again speaking so fats people who weren't around her might not have a clue as to what she had asked about. 

  
  


Millerna smiled, and rubbed her daughters head. In the past month, Pandora's hair had begun to darken, telling Millerna that she was going to end up having the same hair colour as Dryden. Her eyes had also begun to slowly turn grey from the brilliant blue. Millerna shook her head, seeing her angelic looking baby slowly grow out of her baby colours, and growing her new plumage. With brown hair and green eyes on the way, Millerna wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the newest rumours said that Van was gay, Hotomi was actually a man, and Pandora was the child of Hitomi and Millerna. "Sure, honey, have fun."

  
  


"How's Pandora doing with the new baby?" Hitomi asked, pouring herself another cup of tea. 

  
  


"Wonderful." she answered, smiling and rubbing what would soon become a swelled belly. "She's even busy trying to find names for the baby, but somehow the names are less then suitable. On the way over here she overheard a conversation between me and Allen and began to think the baby should by called 'Large' because that's what I'll become and that way the baby can be named after me." They both, amused by Pandora's cheerfulness. "Dryden is hoping his second child will be a male, so that he has someone to teach everything he knows about marketing too. Although, I truly hope Pandora gets taught it all. She's perfect for it: a fast-talker, smart, good with money... she's much like Dryden when he was younger."

  
  


"So, have you told him yet?" Millerna asked after draining her tea. 

  
  


The Queen of Fanelia shook her head. "No, I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid he was wrong. I mean, on Earth, we have machines that will allow us to look inside and actually see and count, where as here you have to count by sound, which can be confusing. What happens if he counted wrong and I tell Van? His manhood will be terribly hurt at the idea of having two and not three!" Hitomi told her friend, stifling a laugh at the thought of Van's hurt manhood. 

  
  


"But, Merle knows?" she asked to confirm it, looking towards the day dreaming cat girl. 

  
  


Merle was busy day dreaming because in only a few short weeks lay her 20th birthday. She couldn't believe she was going to be 20 years old. True, there was nothing overly spectacular about becoming twenty, no special privileges, but it meant something to her. Now she couldn't be looked down at and called a teenager. Her tail flicked behind her lightly, and she turned to her look at the two Queens with a dreamy-face. "Just as long as you wake me up when you're going to tell your husband, Hitomi. Otherwise I'm sleeping." Merle curled up on the couch, almost already asleep with daydreams of visiting the Mystic Moon. She muttered something about the sun being so nice and warm, and how she loved sunbathing, but after that she was fast asleep. 

  
  


"Poor Merle." Hitomi looked at her close friend with a gentle expression. "She must be so tired from all of this. I know we all are. At least we'll get 8 months of rest though, before it all starts up again." 

  
  


"Well Hitomi." Merle pulled out her blue bag, and dug out a stethoscope. "Might as well pull of your shirt so I can have a look." 

  
  


**** Later on that Day

  
  


Van found his wife in their chambers. She was sitting at the desk, writing something. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her front. Hitomi didn't make a sound, but he could feel her give a slight jump, so Van knew he'd startled her. "Hello, again, Hitomi. Fancy meeting you here." he joked. 

  
  


She laughed, and turned the paper over so he couldn't see it. She tilted back her head, her green eyes dancing mischievously. "Twenty four years old, and yet you still act like a teenager in love." 

  
  


He widened his eyes, pretending to be hurt. "Ouch. Are you trying to say I'm immature?" 

  
  


"No." Hitomi raised a hand and brought Van's lips to her own, kissing him tightly. "I'm trying to say I think it's adorable." 

  
  


"Well," he said, blushing and holding her a bit tighter. "I've got nine years to catch up on. I've got almost a decade of watching you from the shadows, holding you, kissing you, talking to you, to catch up." he could feel her tremble slightly at his words, and he wondered if he'd said something wrong, but instead she shot out of his grasp, stood up, and clung to him. Van's concerned face was replaced by one of his small but happy smiled, and he stroked her short cropped hair. "I love you, Hitomi Kanzaki."

  
  


"I love you too...." 

  
  


The two of them kissed for a long time, but stopped when the large bell began to toll, signalling it was time for supper. They both continued to hug each other, not wanting to let go and have to face Courtly manners. "I wonder if they have watermelon.... or maybe some pickles..." 

  
  


"Pardon?" Van felt Hitomi pull away a bit so that she could look at his face. He could feel between them that there was something between them she wasn't telling him, and asked her what it was. She looked at the paper on the desk, and he followed her gaze. Picking it up, Van knew he couldn't use it to find out what it was, because everything she'd written on the paper was crossed off. Crumpling up the paper, he began to loose his worry and instead become a little bit more angrier. "What is it that you're not telling me, Hitomi?" 

  
  


"I'm sorry Van." Hitomi hung her head, feeling Van close the space between them so that he stood in front of her, instead of next to the desk. "I'm so, so, sorry. You see, I don't know how to tell you. So I sat around trying to think of a way to tell you, but none of it seemed right." 

  
  


"Tell me what?" Van was back to getting worried. He kept his voice soft, but deep inside him, he could feel himself shake with anticipation. Was she going to leave him? Was she trying to say she'd had an affair? His mind was buzzing with a thousand things she could say that would be worse than a physical blow. However, if he had looked deeper, he would have seen that he knew they were so deeply connected that nothing could have come between them. 

  
  


"Do you remember when we got married how Lady June- No. That doesn't sound right either." she paused a moment and chewed her lip. "Van, when two people love each other... No, that's just silly. A Queen as certain obligated duties.... Oh bother! Why does this have to beat so difficult?" 

  
  


"Hitomi..." He whispered, reaching out to hold her hand. "Can't you please just come right and tell me?" he begged. "The suspense is killing me, and if you can't think of a way to say it, then just come right out and out it bluntly, or don't tell me at all." 

  
  


They both looked at each other a long time, and before long, there was a loud knocking at the door. It was Lord Wernym, wondering why they weren't coming to dinner. Hitomi held tighter to Van's hand, so that he wouldn't leave her. She held unto his chin with her other hand, gazing into his eyes as if looking for something. 

  
  


Van as such a nice looking man, she still couldn't get over it. He had been through so much, that it had made him much more stronger of a leader. A war, a wife from the Mystic Moon, a Draconian mother, a cat-person for a best friend, a brother who left Fanelia for the Zaibach empire and tried to capture Van on several occasions including going so far as to drug him, a wife that had been kidnapped, getting her visions. Surely, this wouldn't hurt him in the slightest. She let go of her husband, but stayed where she was as he went to answer the door. 

  
  


Hitomi heard him begin to open the door, and that was when she spoke. 

  
  
  
  


"I'm pregnant with triplets." 

  
  


"WHAT!?" Van was sure he hadn't heard right, and spun around, the door wide open with Lord Wernym listening in. "Did you.... di- di- did you say you were PREGNANT?" Hitomi nodded. "Wi- wi- with tri- tri- triplets???!!!!" 

  
  


Hitomi nodded again, and heard two heavy things drop on the floor. She wondered if Van had gotten mad and had thrown something on the floor. When she turned around, she didn't know wether to call for a bit of help, or to fall down herself and laugh until she turned blue. 

  
  


Both Van and Lord Wernym had fainted. 

  
  


******About 8 Months later

  
  


"Will you just calm down, Van?" Merle asked, getting bit dizzy from watching him pace back and forth. 

  
  


"How can I calm down!?" Van shouted, motion to the door. "I want to know what's going on in there! She's been in there for 7 hours! Seven!" He stoped for a moment as another scream rang through the hallway, making Van steel his stance so he wouldn't go a barge through the door. This was even worse then that time when Plaktu had been interrogating Hitomi and her heart had stopped beating. At least then he had known that Millerna was there doing what she could. This time though, he couldn't even make that statement because she was busy taking care of her own baby daughter. 

  
  


"You knew it was going to be a difficult birth." Merle reminded him. Outwardly she looked in control, but she found it just as horrid as Van. "The physician even said that. Hitomi's giving birth to triplets. I mean, Hitomi's a twig and there are watermelons inside of her...." she _eeped_ and became quiet again when Van turned to look at her sternly.

  
  


"I do not need you to explain to me the physiology of my wife." Van told her.

  
  


"You know Van, with a look like that, you'll be a great father." 

  
  


"Father..." he repeated slowly. "I'm going to be a daddy...." Even he had known that for almost eight months, he was still full of wonder at that sentence. Van was starting to learn that there were certain things that still made your heart thump no matter how long you knew about them. One of them was being married to your Soulmate. The other one he'd discovered was being a father. 

  
  


The doors open, and Van heard crying, but it wasn't Hitomi's. The doctor through him a mask. "Lord Van.... we are ready for you know, if you'd like to come in and cut the umbilical cords." 

  
  


Van put on the scrubs and walked in, looking at his wife and three beautiful children with love and admiration. 'They're all so beautiful....' he thought to himself. He looked at the babies again. "Three boys! And what boys!!" 

  
  


"Ah-" the doctor raised an eyebrow and handed him the scissors. "Those are the umbilical cords, your majesty." 

  
  


He blushed under his mask, cutting the cords. Nothing more bloodier than slicing up a dragon for it's energist. He had never been much good with babies. (Though, in reality he was excellent with babies, it was simply considered improper for Kings to be spending a lot of time with them, and Van's head was quite unbalanced at the time with the stress of having a pregnant wife.) Van sat down beside Hitomi, holding two of the babies. 

  
  


Her hair was tampered down to her face with sweat, and she was pale, but Van thought she looked beautiful. He kissed her lips softly, waking her up to hold unto her children she had been carrying around in her. "Van..." she whispered, opening up her eyes. 

  
  


Van didn't know what to say, so he simply kissed her again. "You're amazing, Hitomi." 

  
  


"Congratulations, Queen Hitomi." the doctor said, pulling off gloves nearly soaked with blood. "You'll be quite sore and tired for a few days, but don't worry. You're children are all healthy and doing fine. They are slightly underweight, and I'll be by every single day to make sure they are okay, but I expect that with parents like you two, they'll do quite well." 

  
  


Hitomi was passed a baby, and she held it like a china doll. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes as she held her daughter. "This is the eldest." she said, running a finger down her baby's nose, and laughing as she tried to grab at it already. "Those two are the younger, both boys." 

  
  


Van looked at them both. "The two boys are younger? The eldest is a girl??" he sighed heavily, and swore. "Oh now, which one is going to inherit the throne? Oh, my Council is going to have a field day over this!" 

  
  


She smacked him lightly upside the head. "Van! Don't use language like that around our newborns!" 

  
  


"I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry!" Van smiled an kissed her forehead. "So, what are we going to name them?" 

  
  


"What about naming Amano one of the boys?" she suggested. 

  
  


"That clunk? Uh uh! I don't think so!" he could tell by the look Hitomi was giving him that his reason was not good enough. "Well, what happens if he ever asks who he was named for? Do you really want to tell your son he was named for your school-hood crush that your best friend ended up dating?" 

  
  


Hitomi winced. "Good point. Well, what about Folken?"

  
  


"Everybody's been naming their boys that since the Destiny War." Van rolled his eyes slightly. 

  
  


"Well, what about Faith?"

  
  


"Faith? Faith! That's a girl's name!" Van cried. "I refused to have MY son have a pansy name like Faith!" 

  
  


"It's not necessarily a girl's name in my language." Hitomi responded defiantly. "Shinkou. I don't know, what do you think?" 

  
  


Van looked down at the younger son, the smallest one there was. "Shinkou (AN: The u is not pronounced, k?)... It's different, I like it. It totally suits him. What about the other son here?" he asked, motioning to the elder boy, wrapped in a green blanket. 

  
  


"What about something to do with dragons? Like, 'flying dragon' or 'dragon king'?" 

  
  


"Well, what do those names sound like in you language?" 

  
  


"Hiryuu and Ryuujin." 

  
  


Van contemplate it over. "What about naming him Ryuu? Just plain old, 'dragon'?

  
  


"Ryuu it is." Hitomi looked at the little girl, the biggest one of them all, and the most energetic. Unlike Ryuu and Shinkou, she was busy waving her little arms around, showing no sign that she was going to go to bed soon. "And this feisty little one, what she we call her?"

  
  


"We should have named her Faith." Van muttered. He looked at her again, he tiny fists waving around in the air. "On the other hand, she looks a little too violent to be named Faith. I really hope that she'll be able to fit in." 

  
  


"At least we can make her name fit in. It's perfect. Busouheiwa. 'Armed Peace'. Or do you think it's too long for her?" Van nodded, and Hitomi closed her eyes again, thinking. "What about naming her Tenshi? That means Angel." 

  
  


"I don't know.... oh well." Van looked out their bedroom window to the mystic Moon. "We're both really tired, how about we wait until tomorrow, and look at it all in a new light?" 

  
  


"Sure Van." Hitomi held her daughter close, and Van's arm wrapped around her. She snuggled right in, and followed to Earth. She sighed heavily, wondering what her family and her friends were doing now. Van nuzzled her neck. 

  
  


"Don't worry, Hitomi. Once you and the babies are all healthy, I'll take us all to you r home again, so that they can meet their grandparents." he promised her. 

  
  


Hitomi looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you." he kissed her lightly, making her smile as she fell asleep. 

  
  


And she knew that when she woke up, he'd be there beside her all the way. The five of them, the Royal Family in a land of green and peace. 

  
  


Even if there were still a few kinks to work out.... 


End file.
